On Saturday, April 20, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the southwest Chinese province of Sichuan. As of April 22, the earthquake had killed 203 people, including 10 children, and injured 11,492 more. Some 1.5 million people are affected, and the region is continuing to experience aftershocks. UNICEF is on the ground in the province, responding to the immediate needs of emergency-affected communities.

Hurricane Sandy greeted me on arrival in Port au Prince on October 24th. When I left the island a few days later, the skies were clear and my heart was lighter.

As focal point for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s emergency response, I was in Haiti to survey post-earthquake progress UNICEF and partners have made in the areas of education, nutrition and child protection.

With each return trip, I see improvement in the removal of debris and the expansion of essential services for children. This trip, I was able to preview the first major benchmarking survey on the health and well-being of children pre- and post-earthquake. The data was solid, and revealed dramatic, measurable progress.

Saturday marks the third anniversary of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010. Nearly 1.5 million children were directly affected by the disaster. The U.N. estimated that over a billion dollars would be needed for recovery, and the world’s outpouring of support to UNICEF and other organization was tremendous. We, and the children of Haiti, thank you.

UNICEF’s emergency operations team is closely monitoring the impact of a major earthquake of the coast of Aceh province in Indonesia. A local tsunami warning has been issued following the 7.3 magnitude quake.

Aceh suffered the brunt of the 2004 earthquake and South Asian tsunami that killed 230,000 people.

An early warning system was put in place after that disaster.

As during any emergency, UNICEF stands poised to assist the most vulnerable – children.

UNICEF is monitoring reports of a 7.2 magnitude quake in Turkey that has claimed hundreds of casualties.

It started with a simple desire to help out. A simple idea to raise some money. And it quickly grew into a multi-faceted campaign engaging an entire elementary school and raising awareness about the needs of a country and its cultural significance and beauty.