The conflict in Syria has taken a terrible humanitarian toll. More than anything, this is a children’s crisis. Of the one million refugees, half are children. Inside Syria, two million children are affected, and 800,000 are displaced.
UNICEF has been on the ground, doing all it can to help the children and families affected by the violence.
But a huge funding gap threatens UNICEF’s efforts on behalf of these desperate children: 78% of the funds that UNICEF needs have not been raised. Without immediate additional funding, UNICEF will have to halt many of its key lifesaving interventions.

Kuajok feels like the middle of nowhere.
Our journey began with an hour and half flight from South Sudan’s capital city Juba to the town of Aweil. From Aweil we drove nearly five hours on dusty potholed roads. At times our driver would slow down to 6 miles an hour to maneuver the massive craters.
I was in South Sudan to observe a seven-day immunization campaign supported by UNICEF and partners, including Kiwanis International. The Eliminate Project, a partnership between Kiwanis International and UNICEF, aims to protect women and their future newborns around the world from maternal and neonatal tetanus. The goal is to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus worldwide by 2015.

On February 14, women, men and children everywhere were rising up in opposition to violence against women. We were part of a campaign called One Billion Rising, which grew out of the fact that 1 in 3 women around the world will be raped or abused in her lifetime. That’s more than one billion women and girls.
UNICEF works around the world to protect women and girls from violence. In 2007, UNICEF and V-Day launched the creation of a safe space in Bakavu, DRC, for survivors of sexual violence, called City of Joy. This is just one example of how UNICEF and partners are working to end violence against women and children.

Imagine seeing a friend killed or your home destroyed. Imagine living in a stranger’s house, sharing one room with 20 others, or sitting in a dark cave with 50 students and a teacher you have never met before. This is life for many of the children living through the conflict in Syria.
Earlier today, UNICEF USA hosted a Google+ hangout with three UNICEF staff members who have been on the ground in Syria. Here is what they had to say about the situation on the ground, what UNICEF is doing, and what more needs to be done.

Join us on Thursday, February 28, at 10:00 AM EST, for a Google+ Hangout with Ted Chaiban, the director of Emergency Programs for UNICEF. Ted Chaiban has just come back from Syria, and will report firsthand on the impact the violence there has had on children.

Last week, I had the privilege of visiting one of the most beautiful countries on earth, Rwanda. I was there with delegates from the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s longstanding partner, Zonta International—a global organization working to advance the status of women worldwide. Zonta has chosen to invest in the futures of women and children in Rwanda by supporting UNICEF’s work to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV and prevent gender-based violence. Together, Zonta International, UNICEF and its many partners are working toward—and are on track to reaching—a generation in Rwanda born free from HIV by 2015.