As 2013 begins, it’s a good time to look back on the year gone by. For UNICEF, 2012 was filled with immense challenges—all of which we met head-on. But this year was also one in which great strides were made for child survival. Watch the Year in Review video to see some of the highlights of UNICEF’s work in 2012.

Last week, the Southeast Regional Office of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF hosted their final UNICEF Speaker Series of 2012. The program, entitled Access and Opportunity for All: A Conversation about Children and Disability, took place at the world-renowned Shepherd Center and gave experts and concerned Atlantans an opportunity to openly discuss the topic of disability and how it affects young people around the world.

Sabre, the global travel technology company, recently launched its “Passport to Freedom” initiative to fight child sex trafficking and exploitation. The company also joined the “Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism.” This is a big deal: Sabre is the first such company to join “The Code.”
The Code, a joint venture of ECPAT International and the tourism private sector, provides a way for businesses in the travel and tourism industry to combat child sexual exploitation. UNICEF serves as an advisory partner for The Code.

After the temporary loss of our New York headquarters in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF is determined to continue fighting for the world’s children. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF has been operating at full capacity since the storm. Within two days of the hurricane, almost 50 staffers had moved into emergency offices in northern Manhattan. Our six regional offices around the country are all up and running. Whatever difficulties we may face right now, we won’t put the world’s children on hold. The stakes are simply too high.

Kimberly-Clark, a longtime partner of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, launched the Global Handwashing Day Challenge in recognition of Global Handwashing Day’s 5th Anniversary! Through November 15, we invite you to brush up on your hygiene and sanitation factoids by answering three short questions. After completing the Challenge, you can vote on which UNICEF lifesaving project will receive a donation from Kimberly-Clark.

Child trafficking. It’s a horror that no child should ever have to experience. But around the world, some 5.5 million children are trafficked for forced labor or sexual exploitation. Human trafficking is a $32 billion a year industry, one of the world’s most profitable criminal activities. Children are especially vulnerable, and UNICEF is working across the globe to keep children safe from exploitation.
We recently had a visit here at the U.S. Fund offices from two UNICEF representatives,who described a successful UNICEF campaign to prevent child trafficking in Latin America.