Fieldnotes: Blogging on UNICEF's child survival work in the field

UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken originally wrote this blog post for The Huffington Post on December 29, 2009. Please consider making a donation today to support UNICEF's lifesaving work for children in Somalia.

© Nicholas Ysenburg

Clay Aiken on a recent field visit to Somalia.

This past November, while we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a grim milestone was reached in the east African nation of Somalia. The conflict and instability which has characterized that nation for the past 20 years has produced a generation in its central southern province that has never known peace.

In this season of peace and goodwill, this jarring reality should spur us to action so that future generations are not lost.

The mere mention of Somalia conjures in the mind of everyday Americans a place where lawlessness reigns. Indeed, the perception is that no other country has done more to place the issue of maritime piracy at the forefront of our minds and within our headlines.

While this may be true...it's certainly not the whole story.

Last year, in my role as UNICEF Ambassador, I spent five days in northwest Somalia. There's no question that years of civil war and a defunct central government has left much of this nation dangerously unstable. In fact, half the population of Somalia remains internally displaced and in a state of humanitarian emergency.

This tragic reality affects an estimated 3.6 million people, half of whom are children. Over 1.5 million are displaced as a result of conflict, largely between Islamic extremists and government forces. Not only is this population burdened by violence and instability, but also extreme poverty and recurrent food shortages.

There are, however, glimmers of hope. For one, the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has made overtures to place the well-being of children on its emerging social service agenda.

As the year draws to a close, we're grateful for the generous support you've given to UNICEF this year. In these times, financially challenging for so many, your commitment to the world's children is one reason why I believe in zero.

Countless children around the world are alive and well today because of your support for UNICEF.

Thank you for all you have done in 2008 to put an end the preventable deaths of children. Let's continue the fight and keep believing in zero in 2009!

Best wishes to you and yours for the New Year.

This week, representatives from more than 100 governments put their pens to paper to help save children’s lives by signing an international Convention on Cluster Munitions, committing to effectively rid themselves of these obsolete and indiscriminate weapons. Unfortunately, the U.S. Government was not among them.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2006-1171/Debbas

LEBANON: A girl stands near unexploded cluster bombs in the southern village of Aita Shaab, two days after a cease-fire went into effect.

For years, the world has known about the devastating effects of cluster munitions on civilians—and particularly children. The little “bomblets” that don’t always explode on impact—numbering in the millions worldwide—are deadly remnants of war, waiting for children to step on them or pick them up and lose a limb or even a life. Estimates are that ultimately 98 percent of cluster bomb victims are civilians, 40 percent of whom are children.

This is unacceptable. At the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, we focus on ensuring that families have what they need for their children to lead happy, healthy lives. But, one leftover cluster bomblet can instantly negate all our efforts—destroying the very fabric of a family in a flash.

What if you knew a child whose life was in danger?

And what if you knew you had the power to save that child?

Of course, you would do whatever you could.

© UNICEF/NYHQ99-0884/LeMoyne

VIET NAM: A man lifts up his baby son as he stands on their houseboat on a canal in the Mekong Delta in the southern province of Dong Thap.

Around the world, there are more than 25,000 children who are alive today but will not be tomorrow. They will die even though the medicines and technology that could save them readily exist. They will die from utterly preventable causes.

Today, on Universal Children’s Day, I think we should all pause to consider these 25,000 youngsters who will not live to see their fifth birthday. It is a day to mourn their tragic and cruel loss.

But it also a day to stand up and say enough—enough young lives needlessly extinguished, enough unnecessary suffering, enough squandered promise.

I invite you to join me in committing to a future in which the number of children who die from preventable causes is not 25,000 per day—it is zero.

Zero children killed by malaria, diarrhea and tetanus, zero children fatally sickened by unsafe water, zero children wasted by malnutrition. I believe in zero—zero preventable child deaths.

	© MLS/Getty Images

As a New York Red Bulls player and MLS WORKS ambassador, I am honored to support UNICEF.

Every day, nearly 25,000 children die needlessly from preventable causes—because they lack simple things like access to clean drinking water, basic childhood medical attention or nutritious food.

UNICEF’s goal is simple—to reduce the number of children who die from preventable causes to zero. UNICEF has the global experience, resources and reach to achieve this goal, but they can’t do it alone.

They need our help!

So MLS W.O.R.K.S. (the philanthropic arm of Major League Soccer), the Red Bulls and I are asking New Jersey youth soccer players to help vulnerable children across the world by participating in Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF this fall.

If you received a Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF kit from your coach, I encourage you to participate and help save lives. If you didn’t receive a kit, don’t worry, you can still help! Just click here to learn how.

I think it’s important for our youth to be familiar with problems that face other kids around the world. It’s never too early to get involved in public service and help to make a difference in the world.

For that reason, and so many others, I am thankful for our youth soccer players from New Jersey Youth Soccer who will be participating in Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF and doing whatever it takes to save children’s lives.

So get your costumes ready! The top fundraisers will be recognized at a 2009 Red Bulls game and will receive great prizes including autographed merchandise and a meet and greet with Red Bulls players! See you at the stadium!

To read this post in Spanish, click "Read More" below.

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.

© UNICEF/HQ07-1474/Khemka

Rama Kumari holds her 11-day-old infant at Ilam District Hospital in the remote, mountainous Eastern Region of Nepal, one of the countries making the most progress in reducing child mortality.

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—still nearly 20 children under-five die every minute from mostly preventable causes—but USAID is moving in the right direction with Congressional leadership and UNICEF's partnership. At the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, we are going to continue to fight for a stronger U.S. role in saving children's lives, and we need your help!

Here's a quick trivia question: What's the capital of Uruguay?

It's Montevideo. If you didn't answer correctly, don't feel too bad. Most people don't know much about this small South American nation, which is often overshadowed by its larger and better-known neighbors like Colombia and Argentina.

Which is why it was such a treat to have Uruguay's UNICEF Representative, Tom Bergmann-Harris, drop by last week and tell us all about the country, its children and what UNICEF is doing to help those in need.

Faced with one of the country's worst economic crises in history, Uruguay is struggling to provide their children with a good education. Many rural schools are in tatters with few books and scant schools supplies. Current school drop-out rates top 40 percent in some communities.

To turn the spotlight on this issue, the creative staff at UNICEF in Uruguay grabbed the media's attention this past winter by organizing a cross-country horseback trek to visit rural schools. Why on horseback? Because it's the traditional way many countryside children travel to school in Uruguay.

© UNICEF Uruguay/Valerie Booth and Agustin Martinez

The UNICEF Horseback team rode 620 miles across Uruguay this past winter, receiving a lot of press coverage.

Today is National Philanthropy Day, a time to "consider the impact of the charitable sector and the increasing role it plays in our societies and countries around the world... Connecting individuals to causes, and to each other. Fostering civic participation. Improving the quality of life for all people."

Here at UNICEF USA we're taking a short break to celebrate the tremendous impact our supporters have had over the years, enabling UNICEF to save more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization.

Thank you.

Today, the "acronym of the day" is UNICEF. If you ask anyone here at UNICEF you will quickly find out that it no longer stands for United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, the original full name of the organization when it was formed in 1946.

When UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations system in 1953, its name was shortened to the United Nations Children's Fund, reflecting its broader mission of addressing the long-term needs of children and women in developing countries everywhere. However, UNICEF retained its original acronym.

If you asked me what more does UNICEF stand for, or what it means to me, I would say, look at the 2006-2007 Futbol Club Barcelona (FCB) soccer jersey.

Before my first day of work here, I spotted a busboy with a red and blue FCB jersey with UNICEF written across the front. The jersey immediately conjured up re-runs of the team’s superstars in my head, like Ronaldinho faking defenders out of their shoes to score a scissor-kick goal. But then, I wondered, why a soccer team? What does that have to do with the world's leading humanitarian organization for children?

I realized you can think of soccer and children’s aid as inextricably linked because they are each a kind of life support for millions across the globe. Soccer is a global movement, a way of bridging gaps across social classes, language, cultures, etc. It breathes life and dreams into children, just as a vaccine allows a child to think about a future, not a fate.

Fortunate nations, organizations and people share the duty of helping the less fortunate. When I saw UNICEF front and center on FCB’s jersey, it made me understand that this soccer team is a sports organization which stands up to its motto: More than a club. UNICEF, likewise, is more than a charity. FCB and UNICEF keep children in the poorest regions of the world alive and instill confidence in a better future.

They each understand that helping others is more than just injecting money into poor communities. What soccer and aid organizations both do is restore hope where it has been attacked, whether by man or natural catastrophe. Hope for a fruitful future will take a child farther than money can. The FCB-UNICEF soccer jersey reminds us that everyone is capable of carrying out such acts of humanity, even if we don’t have millions of dollars.

Today is April 1. Here at UNICEF, that means preparations for our annual Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program are kicking into high gear

While we’re busy working with donors to find ways to send millions of dollars to children in need around the world, The New Yorker decided to make a joke of our Trick-or-Treat program. I’m sure some of you have read the piece by Simon Rich, a former president of the Harvard Lampoon. His Shouts & Murmurs satire is a play about his third grade perception of UNICEF. To be honest, it’s really not a flattering image of UNICEF.

Rich’s satire portrays UNICEF as a ‘greedy’ ‘evil king of Halloween.’ And there’s more… he suggests that kids are better off keeping the money they collect trick-or-treating for UNICEF… and claims UNICEF funds “the Russians so they could build a bomb.” Oh, come on!

Don’t get me wrong. My UNICEF colleagues around the world and I have a sense of humor, especially on April Fool’s Day. Calling UNICEF the ‘evil king of Halloween’ made a few of us smirk, just a little. But, when a writer in such a well-respected publication implies that UNICEF doesn’t use its donor’s money efficiently, I need to take a stand.

The U.S. Fund for UNICEF has received the highest rating from charity navigator and BBB wise giving; two of the toughest charity watchdogs around.

Now, speaking of third graders, I bet Mr. Rich doesn’t know that last week, UNICEF announced that six million kids are going back to school in Afghanistan! This is possible because of UNICEF and our friends and donors and Trick-or-Treaters. UNICEF sent funds and supplies to build schools, train teachers, and provide school supplies to eager kids who dream about gong to school and getting an education.

I’d like to introduce the New Yorker to a third grader in Afghanistan – in school for the first time because of UNICEF’s work. I’m confident that if we ask for her image of UNICEF, we’d hear a very different answer.

- Christine Squires

Click here to launch a slideshow presentation about UNICEF's programs that provide clean water and sanitation to the world's most vulnerable children.

Please join us in taking a moment today, on World Water Day, to reflect on and raise awareness about the millions of children around the world who lack clean water.

Despite the apparent abundance of clean water in the United States and most of the developed world, more than 1 billion people around the world lack clean, safe drinking water and more than 2.6 billion lack adequate sanitation services. Some 400 million children struggle to survive without safe water and basic sanitation, two basic health necessities we take for granted in the developed world.

UNICEF, with its formidable resources and global influence, is uniquely placed to lead the effort in providing sophisticated, large-scale, and permanent solutions to help those children threatened by unsafe water supplies and disease.

We invite you to view our photo essay at right about UNICEF's programs that provide clean water and sanitation to the world's most vulnerable children. Then, take a moment to share your comments below about how UNICEF's low-cost, high-impact water and sanitation programs save children's lives.

By increasing awareness about the global impact of the water crisis, you will help make a difference.

This Thursday, March 22, is World Water Day. I know what some of you are thinking: Here we go again, one more manufactured holiday to get people to pay attention to another issue! And, you would be right. Yes, the purpose of World Water Day is to put a spotlight on the importance of clean and safe water, something we all have access to in the US, and rarely even ponder. But many children and their families in developing countries don’t have this luxury.

Here’s why I’m excited about World Water day and why you can be too. Almost 300 restaurants in the New York area are going to help raise money and awareness about the importance of clean water and it’s scarcity in developing nations by participating in the Tap Project.

When you dine at one of the participating restaurants, you will be asked to pay $1 for NYC’s finest tap water. All donations will go to support UNICEF’s water programs and, in turn, can save and improve children’s lives around the world. With these contributions, UNICEF will be able to install more water pumps and increase access to clean water for kids.

So, how can just installing water pumps save lives? So many ways…most directly is that when kids drink dirty water, they can die from dysentery and diarrheal disease. Providing kids access to clean water will prevent this. Lack of access to water pumps force young women to travel miles to collect the water and bring it back to their village. In places of heavy conflict, like Darfur, collecting water is essentially risking your life. These women may be raped or killed in the process of gathering the water they need to survive.

It's mind boggling to think that lack of access to water can have such impacts for kids and their families.

Water: For me it’s simple, I turn on my tap and out it comes. I shower in it, cook with it, and I drink it straight from the tap. Until I started working for UNICEF, never did I realize how lucky I was to do all of the above.

So on World Water Day, March 22, if you can dine in a Tap Project restaurant, please do. Or, go to Starbucks. They are also helping in the effort for clean water. Then, the next time you turn on your tap to take a sip of water, just simply close your eyes and think about how fortunate you are.

Some of you may begin noticing a change in the updates you receive in your inbox from the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. These messages will no longer be coming from "Charles Lyons, UNICEF USA."

Fundraising Success magazine featured Chip and the U.S. Fund as its cover story in January.

Charles, or “Chip” as we affectionately know him, is continuing his humanitarian work at the Gates foundation.

I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to tell you all about Chip. Chip has been within the UNICEF family for 25 years and for the past ten, he has been President of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

As Chip leaves USF, he leaves us in a place of reflection on the many accomplishments for the world’s children.

I’ve had the distinct privilege of working with Chip for almost all of his ten years at the U.S. Fund, so I can tell you first hand of the great strides made for kids under Chip’s leadership. Chip’s long history with UNICEF includes working in the field in Mozambique, where he helped tackle and understand the life-threatening issues that kids face everyday such as basic health issues, dirty water, wars, crises, and floods. Chip also served as Chief of Staff for Carol Bellamy, former Executive Director of UNICEF. As the President of the U.S. Fund, Chip instilled in all of us the belief that the work we do here every day, whether we are staff, supporters or donors, means we are saving children’s lives, every day.

When I think about what ten years of UNICEF means, it means hundreds of millions of kids immunized; it means millions of bed nets distributed to protect against malaria; many thousands of water pumps installed; more and more kids enrolled in school, every day. It is truly awesome.

Chip would be the first one to tell you that these accomplishments have been a team effort, of UNICEF and you, working together. Millions of children are alive today because of your support of UNICEF. Millions have more hope of surviving in what were previously seen as hopeless circumstances.

I have to admit it’s very hard for me to say goodbye to Chip, but as I reflect on the past ten years, I know we are in the best position we’ve ever been to continue our work on behalf of children. Ten million children still die each year from preventable causes, but that number would be much higher if it wasn’t for UNICEF’s work over the past decade.

Chip leaves behind a team of people determined to make an even greater difference in the next decade, and for that, I say “Thank you, Chip.”

The UN General Assembly is commemorating UNICEF's 60th Anniversary today. Here's what the Secretary-General had to say:

"In the 10 years I have served as Secretary-General, I have been privileged to meet UNICEF colleagues all around the world. I have seen them do great things for children, on all continents, against all odds. They have given a voice to those children who need it most. The have protected children, and helped them survive and develop.

It is largely thanks to UNICEF that today, we understand better than ever that building a better future begins with children -- with ensuring that they are healthy, educated, safe and loved. When given the best possible start in life, children can grow up to realize their greatest potential as adults. UNICEF is dedicated to providing that gateway to a better future.

Over the six decades that have passed since UNICEF’s creation at the end of World War II, UNICEF’s advocacy on behalf of children has changed the international discourse, putting a human face on development. Each year, UNICEF’s flagship publication has borne witness to the State of the World’s Children, bringing the world’s attention to its youngest citizens. Campaigns for child survival, girls’ education and HIV/AIDS have proved models of a broad and deep partnership across agencies. UNICEF’s emergency responses have saved the lives of millions of children caught up in wars and natural disasters. Health programs have saved millions of children from disease, undernutrition, illness and death. Education programs have enabled millions to learn what they need to lead full and productive lives. Protection programs have saved millions from trafficking, sexual exploitation, violence and abuse. And today, UNICEF’s work to realize the rights of all children is at the heart of our efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals.

If UNICEF didn’t exist, the world would have to invent it. As you celebrate this milestone, I extend my profound thanks to the staff and leadership of UNICEF, as well as to the National Committees for UNICEF and their Goodwill Ambassadors, for the wonderful partnership we have enjoyed. I know you will keep going strong for many such milestones to come. I will no longer be Secretary-General, but I will always your fan."

Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General.

Thanksgiving is a time for Americans to sit back with family and friends and consider what we are thankful for this year. Here at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF we are most thankful for the help we receive from our dedicated donors and volunteers.

We know there are so many priorities, so many requests for your time and financial resources. Thank you for working with us to help the world's children.

Speaking of pressing priorities, I wanted to make sure you saw Nicholas Kristof's op-ed and video from Sunday's New York Times. A reader, surely feeling pressed for time and money as the bustle of the holiday season begins, wrote Kristof. She suggested that it would be better to assist local charities rather than continuing with relief efforts in Darfur. "We have plenty of needs to be filled at home," she said.

In response, Kristof introduces us to Halima Abdelkarim. Her story is alarming and shows that while -- yes, there are pressing local and national needs that need our attention and support -- UNICEF's work in Darfur must continue. We believe many Americans can help both at home and in places that need our attention across the world.

There is some news from Sudan that we can all be grateful for. Kristof says, "In the last few days, Sudan has bowed to outside pressure and reluctantly agreed in principle to accept some U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur. That’s a reminder that pressure can work, but we haven’t applied nearly enough. For the peacekeepers to save lives and the killings to stop, much greater effort will be essential."

Happy Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for your support of our work.

In last night's episode of NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, fictional TV execs joked about a boring new pilot they thought would never make it in the mainstream. The topic of this fictional pilot? UNICEF. The execs laughed and said that only mimes could make the program about UNICEF's work more interesting.

Frankly, we're flattered, but just a little bit confused. Can the executives at the fictional NBS or their real-life counterparts at NBC actually think UNICEF's lifesaving work isn't ready for prime time?

C'mon! UNICEF is the world wide expert in child survival. Our experts are on the ground saving the lives of the world's children in more than 150 nations and territories. We're sitting down at tables with warlords and political leaders to keep the focus on kids, driving through deserts and jungles to deliver immunizations and clean water and healthy food, plus so much more.

NBC/NBS, a show about UNICEF seems like a good idea to us. We're ready for our close-up.

(Mime image via KimMania)