Did you know that mobile technology can actually help save children’s lives? I certainly didn’t. But when put to use in the field, especially in remote areas where healthcare may be far away and where information is often difficult to access, a mobile phone can make a life-or-death difference. Mobile phones help span the distance between people who need help and those who can help them, and mobile technology lets data be analyzed quickly, so that children and mothers who need treatment can get it right away.
UNICEF is always looking for new ways to save and improve children’s lives.
Some of the pioneering technologies and products used by UNICEF to combat malnutrition and disease were showcased at last week’s Innovation Fair in Geneva. Organized by the High-Level Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council, the fair was an opportunity for UNICEF, its partners and other organizations to display “innovative projects and practices” that improve global public health.
Data is the lifeblood of UNICEF’s work. Now before you stop reading this (how can a blog post about data be interesting?) let me tell you about a very cool innovation that UNICEF is using to collect data and apply it toward saving lives. It’s an innovation that makes use of something you probably have in your pocket or backpack right now.
UNICEF Ambassador Lucy Liu recently traveled to Lebanon, where she met with Syrian children and families who had fled the violence in their homeland.
“It is a children’s crisis,” Ms. Liu said, as she visited a makeshift refugee camp in the Bekaa region of Lebanon.
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