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.

I may be at the head of digital innovation and communication here at unicefusa.org, but I still believe that some of the finest social practices have a little age on them. Case in point: Today we celebrate 100 years of International Women’s Day. Happy March 8, fellow women.

Elizabeth Kiem is the online producer for unicefusa.org.

In this country, International Women’s Day (IWD) is looked at as, well, international. Four out of five American calendars (including the one on my desk that arrived compliments of my accountant) fail to even make a note of March 8th. It’s one of those “foreign” holidays

Have you noticed from our recent efforts in China and Myanmar that UNICEF goes to extreme lengths to make sure children always have access to education, even in emergency situations?

© UNICEF/HQ07-1110/Shehzad Noorani

Education is like a magic wand for children

UNICEF’s success in helping reduce the global child mortality rate and its efforts to provide education to all children, even in the wake of emergencies, were highlighted earlier this week in a Financial Times profile.

The article related a brief history of UNICEF, including its embrace of education as a central tenet of its mission to save and improve children’s lives. It also discussed other current challenges, including the battle against HIV/AIDS and child exploitation.