Emergency Fund

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Immediately after an emergency food is often difficult to find, especially for poor families. UNICEF distributes food and sets up feeding centres to help children and families.
Immediately after an emergency food is often difficult to find, especially for poor families. UNICEF distributes food and sets up feeding centres to help children and families.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-1520/Shehzad Noorani

Many of us want to help, but don't know where our money is best spent.


Our Emergency Fund makes that choice for you.

When you donate to the Emergency Fund, it means that when the next emergency strikes, we can act rapidly to save children’s lives. It means we can stockpile life-saving items, like first aid kits and blankets, so that we are ready and can act immediately whenever the next disaster hits.

You will help children struck by natural disaster, conflict, war or famine, saving as many lives as possible.

UNICEF responds to 200 emergencies every year. The first aid we deliver usually arrives within 48 hours of an emergency. But we cannot do this without your help.

Please donate to the Emergency Fund using the form on the right.

Emergencies supported by this fund include:


Horn of Africa Food Crisis

Two million children are currently at risk of starvation in the Horn of Africa, caused by soaring food prices, conflict and the worst drought the region has experienced in 60 years.  UNICEF is providing emergency food to malnourished children in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. As well as this life-saving nutrition, UNICEF is providing immunisatiosn and clean water to keep vulnerable children alive.

None of this would have been possible without generous donations to our Emergency Fund, which allows us to react with urgency.

Tsunami and Earthquakes hit Indonesia

Indonesia has been hit with double natural disasters in 2010 - an earthquake in the West Sumatra province and the volcanic eruption of Mount Merapi in Central Java. UNICEF is working closely with Government of Indonesia partners to provide emergency assistance for children.

The earthquake caused the sea to rush into the Mentawai Islands, destroying homes in a highly malaria endemic area. UNICEF is providing 6,000 bed nets to protect families against malaria, and is also providing water containers and hygiene kits to meet the needs of up to 4,500 families displaced from their homes.

None of this would have been possible without generous donations to our Emergency Fund, which allows us to react with urgency.

Haiti EarthQuake

The earthquake that devastated Haiti in January 2010 directly affected nearly double the entire population of children in NZ. UNICEF’s response to this emergency was immediate and unprecedented and was only possible due to donations to our Emergency Fund.

Two years on, UNICEF has built 193 quake-proof schools, vaccinated 79% of the population and fed 15,300 malnourished children. UNICEF has helped children survive thanks to the generousity of donors in Haiti's time of need. These children have not given up. Neither will we.

Cyclone Tomas in fiji

When Cyclone Tomas hit Fiji and the Solomon Islands in March 2010 leaving three people dead, 433 homes completely destroyed, 4,000 households affected and at least 25 schools damaged, UNICEF was able to rapidly supply 102,000 oral rehydration salts, 305,000 water purification tablets, 10,184 collapsible water containers, 290 tarpaulins, 100 tents and 51 health kits. We were able to act immediately because of our Emergency Fund.

DARFUR

The Darfur region has been in a state of humanitarian emergency since 2003. Since the conflict began an estimated 500,000 people have died due violence and disease, and approximately 2.6 million people have been internally displaced. Hunger, violence, disease, rape, the recruitment of child soldiers all continue to be chronic problems affecting women and children. United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Mukesh Kapila, called Darfur the "world's greatest humanitarian crisis." That was in March 2004 and the situation is still dire. Although Darfur comes in and out of media focus, UNICEF remains.

GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS

Rising food costs have trapped tens of millions of children and their families in a downward spiral of poverty and destitution. The crisis has been caused by increased food demand from newly-rich nations, rising production costs from soaring oil prices, pressure to convert land to bio-fuel production and disruption to harvests caused by climate change. UNICEF is setting up more emergency therapeutic feeding centres for malnourished and severely malnourished children. We are distributing life-saving therapeutic milks and supplements like Plumpy Nut.

You can help us make a difference to these vulnerable children. Please donate using the form on the right.