Pictures often are more effective at conveying a story than words ever can be. That’s certainly true of the Faces of Freedom photo exhibition, part of RugMark’s “Most Beautiful Rug” Campaign to end child labor. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is the national cosponsor of the tour of photographs taken by U. Roberto Romano during visits to India, Nepal, and Pakistan from 1996 to 2007. The shots take you behind the looms and inside the lives of children who have been forced to weave carpets for export to the United States and other countries.

Although all thoughts in Washington have been focused on the Inauguration, two weeks ago, Members of the 111th U.S. Congress took their Oath of Office and prepared to face some of the most challenging issues ever to confront an incoming Congress. But prior to taking up any other issue, the House and Senate met to count the electoral votes from the November ’08 election and formally certify that Barack Obama is the 44th the President of the United States.

The Electoral College vote was more than a ceremonial riteof passage. It underscores that the entire country, including the U.S. Congress, is looking to the new President for leadership.

That is why our Presidential Initiative to Accelerate Child Survival is so important. We know that even in these difficult times, Americans have not backed off their personal commitments to help children survive. We believe in zero

Our thoughts turn this time of year to the hope of peace for humanity and the fervent wish for a better world for children everywhere.

The Global Priorities Campaign, of which the U.S. Fund for UNICEF is a founding member, is working to make these dreams real. The Campaign brings together leaders for peace, proponents of nuclear arms reductions, people of various religious traditions, and child survival and child nutrition advocates. We are asking our leaders to make child survival and child health key components of what we mean by “global security.” Can we say we live in a secure world when 25,000 children die every day from preventable causes?

A concrete expression of the goals of this effort is the Global Security Priorities Resolution, a bipartisan Congressional resolution introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA). The measure calls for the reordering of U.S. spending priorities by reducing our nuclear weapons arsenal and investing the savings in nuclear nonproliferation programs and in global child survival and child nutrition programs.

Read more TAGS: advocacy, Believe in Zero, child survival Comment (1) Tweet Nov10 A White House in transition Posted by Martin Rendón, UNICEF USA I walked by the White House today. Since I work in Washington for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, that’s not unusual. But today was special. I had just come from a briefing sponsored by the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign about the impact of the Presidential Election on foreign policy Read more TAGS: Barack Obama, Believe in Zero, child survival, President of the United States, Presidential Initiative, White House Comment (0) Tweet Oct29 Mr. President, children are dying Posted by Martin Rendón, UNICEF USA I’d like to call your attention to an exciting opportunity for you to put your name on the line for child survival: the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s new online petition in support of a Presidential Initiative to Accelerate Child Survival. Please join us in telling the next President of the United States that Americans want him to make global child survival a top priority. Ask him to do whatever it takes to save the 25,000 children under age five who die every day from preventable causes. Read more TAGS: advocacy, Believe in Zero, child mortality, child survival, maternal health, President of the United States, Presidential Initiative Comment (0) Tweet Sep15 Working together toward the same goal Posted by Martin Rendón, UNICEF USA Recently, I attended a presentation by officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) about its new report to Congress: “Working Toward the Goal of Reducing Maternal and Child Mortality: USAID Programming and Response to FY08 Appropriations.” Though the title is a mouthful, the report is an encouraging development in the fight for child survival. Last year, Congress passed an appropriations bill that included an increase of $90 million for maternal and child health programs. Congress also instructed USAID to report on how its child survival programs are working toward the goal of reducing child mortality by two-thirds. UNICEF advocates pushed for both the funding and the report. This USAID report noted that the agency will use the $450 million it was given to achieve and sustain the greatest possible reduction of maternal and child mortality and malnutrition. Its strategy includes these elements: Focus on maternal, newborn and child mortality reduction as a clear goal Identify and scale up high-impact interventions most relevant to the target country Support the most effective approaches to delivering key interventions to families and communities USAID’s strategy complements UNICEF’s proven approach to save children’s lives. We salute USAID for their commitment to child survival. There is still much to be done Read more TAGS: child mortality, child survival, Congress, maternal mortality, UNICEF Comment (0) Tweet Jun19 Making the case for child survival on Capitol Hill Posted by Martin Rendón, UNICEF USA Sex web cam gratuit sex web cam gratuit. Natural ways to shrink fibroids natural ways to shrink fibroids. White reviving skin radiance solution white reviving skin radiance solution. Humatrope buy humatrope buy. Gonococcal arthritis symptoms gonococcal arthritis symptoms. Signature wrinkle filler bb cream signature wrinkle filler bb cream. Writing jobs from home writing jobs from [...] Read more TAGS: advocacy, Africa, child survival, Congress, policy Comment (0) Tweet May09 UNICEF briefs Congress on food crisis Posted by Martin Rendón, UNICEF USA Yesterday a UNICEF representative brought UNICEF’s concerns about the impact of the global food crisis on children to the attention of Members of Congress and Congressional staff at a packed hearing room on Capitol Hill. The briefing, chaired by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), was cosponsored by the Congressional Children’s Caucus, the Congressional Global Health Caucus, and the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. Read more TAGS: Congress, floods, hunger, malnutrition Comment (0) Tweet Apr17 Capitol Corner: April 19, Global Day of Action to Ban Cluster Bombs Posted by Martin Rendón, UNICEF USA Read more TAGS: advocacy, cluster munitions, Congress, landmines Comment (0) Tweet Dec20 [Capitol Corner] Holiday cheer from Congress Posted by Martin Rendón, UNICEF USA As the House and Senate raced to finish their legislative business for year, the legislators didn’t forget UNICEF! The Omnibus Appropriations bill agreed upon by the Congress and the President will provide a contribution of $128 million to UNICEF’s regular resources. This is the largest amount the United States Government ever has given to UNICEF. Read more TAGS: advocacy, appropriations, Congress Comment (0) Tweet Page 4 of 5Previous12345Next Facebook Twitter YouTube Flickr © 2013 United States Fund for UNICEF. All rights reserved. 1.800.FOR.KIDS 125 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038 Privacy Policy FAQ Jobs Site Map