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

Early diagnosis and treatment can significantly improve the prospects for survival of newborn babies exposed to HIV, according to a report released today by four United Nations agencies.

The report, Children and AIDS: Third Stocktaking Report is the third review of progress on how AIDS affects children and young people since Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS was launched in October 2005 by UNICEF, UNAIDS and other partners with a commitment to be accountable for results.

Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS is a call to action around the impact of HIV and AIDS on children. It focuses on the needs of children in four key areas, known as the “Four Ps”: preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, providing paediatric treatment for children infected with the virus, preventing new infections among adolescents and young people, and protecting and supporting children affected by HIV and AIDS.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF's work against HIV/AIDS. And in honor of World AIDS Day, please consider making an online donation in support of this vital, lifesaving work.

Just 1 minute. If you’re reading this post, I hope you have one more minute to vote for UNICEF on the “Our World Gives” Facebook promotion sponsored by Western Union and the Western Union Foundation. There are only eight eligible organizations, including the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, and the cause with the most votes will win $50,000. But you have to vote by November 28.

So please take just one minute to vote and ask your friends to do the same. Your vote counts and can bring us one step closer to zero—zero preventable deaths for the world’s children.

Are you a Delta Air Lines SkyMiles member? Do you have unused frequent flyer miles? Put them to good use by donating them to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. With Delta's SkyWish program, SkyMiles members can donate their miles to any participating charity organization, including the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. For more information, visit www.delta.com/skywish.

	© 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.

The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is a proud partner of the ONE Campaign, a grassroots network of more than two million Americans who care about issues of global poverty, hunger and disease, and efforts to fight these problems in the world's poorest countries.

Apparently, in the history of modern presidential debates, only two questions about global poverty have been asked to the candidates—a shockingly low figure. In 2008, voters need to know what Barack Obama and John McCain will do to end the most extreme suffering in our increasingly interconnected world.

UNICEF advocates can help make sure that changes by signing the One Campaign's petition to presidential debate moderator Jim Lehrer urging him to ask "Just ONE Question" on global poverty at the first presidential debate, September 26 in Oxford, Mississippi.

To sign the petition online visit: one.org/debates.

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!

UNICEF and Malaria No More are teaming up to defeat malaria—a completely preventable disease that still kills one child every 30 seconds worldwide. But as UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken puts it in this short video, "It doesn't have to be this way." He shows how insecticide treated bednets provided by UNICEF are being used to protect children from malaria in Somalia.

For a limited time, Malaria No More will match your donation in the fight against malaria, helping UNICEF save twice as many lives. To learn more, click here. Or, "give the gift of growing up" and make an online donation today.

Sure, the Olympics have been exciting, but there's another sporting event this August that's had us here at UNICEF sitting by our TVs and cheering like crazy—the 2008 Disney Channel Games.

For the third year in a row, each of the teams competing in the Disney Channel Games is playing for one of four children's charities. This year, it's the green "Cyclones" who are playing for UNICEF.

The games feature relay races, obstacle courses and other events, which can be seen every Saturday night at 8 pm (ET) on, of course, The Disney Channel. Be sure to tune in on Saturday, August 30 for the finals.

In the meantime, check out The Inside Track, a special behind the scenes broadcast about the games exclusively on disneychannelgames.com, hosted by Disney Channel stars Meaghan Jette Martin ("Camp Rock") and Cody Linley ("Hannah Montana"). Also on the site, you can vote for your favorite players and dive into the action via online versions of the games seen each week.

Be sure to check it all out at disneychannelgames.com.

Last week we attended the Circle K International Convention in Denver, where we debuted Six Cents Online. This new online fundraising tool will allow Circle K members to have access to all the resources they need and electronically raise funds to save children’s lives.

Diarrheal dehydration is one of the deadliest threats against children. At a cost of only six cents, a mixture of sugar and salt called oral rehydration salts (ORS) offers the most effective way to help save lives during episodes of dehydration. The Six Cents Initiative is designed for Circle K International members to help children get the rehydrating salts they need to survive dehydration spells.

But that’s not all. Contributions to the Six Cents Initiative will also help provide aid for UNICEF's water and sanitation programs and long-term solutions.

Circle K International is the largest collegiate community service, leadership development and friendship organization in the world, and we're proud to partner with them in the Six Cents Initiative.

While Circle K is taking the lead, anyone can contribute to the campaign, so check out Six Cents Online today!

The General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) recently honored Caryl Stern, president and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, as one of four women of distinction at the Empowering Women Banquet, held during the 117th Annual GFWC International Convention in Chicago. Other honorees included Anne Burke, Illinois Supreme Court Justice and a founder of the Special Olympics; Elena Poptodorova, Ambassador of Bulgaria to the United States; and Jaclyn Smith, actress, entrepreneur, philanthropist and breast cancer survivor.

Stern thanked the gathering of over 650 GFWC members for their long-standing support of UNICEF and commitment to the empowerment of women. She pointed out that gender inequality creates a burden on both women and children, and therefore remains a high priority in UNICEF’s work.

Andrea Penagos, a junior at the University of Southern California (USC), became passionate about children's issues when she lived in Guatemala as a teen. She witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by kids in impoverished communities and became determined to help. Now, as the president of the UNICEF Campus Initiative club at USC, she's rallying other students to the cause.

Presented by the i'm Initiative, this great video from mtvU's "Cause Effect" tells her story:

In my last post, I told you all about the i'm Talkathon, a project started by an i'm Initiative fan named Parker to help raise awareness about this incredible program from Microsoft that donates to a social cause every time you send an IM or email. UNICEF is one of the causes, and there are just five days left in the Talkathon!

In these final days, there's a simple way you can help raise awareness for UNICEF and possibly even help us win a big donation from the social netoworking site Facebook. Facebook has pledged $15,000 to the social cause that gets the most votes in their i'm Initiative poll.

Here’s the deal: On the "i’m Making a Difference" Group page (www.facebook.com/im), look for the poll on the right margin. Simply vote for your favorite cause. You can see the results in real time.

UNICEF is currently in third place. Help make us #1! Rally your friends. Get out the vote. The more friends who get behind UNICEF, the better we will do. That's what community is all about.

And let's have a round of applause for Facebook's generous pledge. Very cool.

Usually, all that you'd expect in return for a donation to UNICEF is the deep satisfaction of knowing you've helped some of the world's most vulnerable children who are struggling for survival every day.

But this month, our corporate partner, American Airlines, is offering an added incentive to donate: bonus miles! American Airlines AAdvantage® members who donate $50 or more at www.unicefusa.org/aa will receive a one-time award of 250 AAdvantage bonus miles. Donate $100 or more and earn 500 bonus miles.

Every donation made at www.unicefusa.org/aa will help UNICEF save and improve children's lives in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and/or the recent earthquake in Sichuan, China.

Donate today, because this special offer only lasts through July 31, 2008.