60 Years of UNICEF: Our History

In an unpredictable world confronted with disease and humanitarian disaster, UNICEF's work is essential.

(C) UNICEF/HQ05-1646/Mohan 

Today, a world without UNICEF is unimaginable.

UNICEF was brought to life in December 1946 by a unanimous vote at the first session of the UN General Assembly. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, as it was then known, was to provide short-term relief to children in post-World War II Europe.

Then as now, UNICEF was funded entirely by voluntary contributions – and once the immediate post-war needs of Europe’s children had been seen to, many thought UNICEF should cease to exist.

Photo Essays
Children & the MDGs:2000-06	Child rights: 1990-99	Child survival: 1980-89	Development decades:1960-79

1946-1959: An agency for children is born

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ahmed Bokhari, argued passionately that children around the world faced an ongoing spiral of disease and poverty that stymied global development, and that UNICEF’s mission was as invaluable as ever. His argument prevailed:

• By the time UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations in 1953, the seven-year-old organisation was active in some 100 countries.
• In 1959, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child stated that the hunger, poverty, disease, discrimination and ignorance endured by millions of children was a violation of their basic rights, and the landscape of children’s lives was changed forever.

1960-1979: The development decades

UNICEF was to provide more than just humanitarian relief. In the 1960's and 1970's additional areas of focus included nutrition and health, and education and family issues. In this period:

• Half of UNICEF’s spending was being dedicated to learning.
• UNICEF was in the global spotlight in 1965 as the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
• The advent of inexpensive strategies – such as providing micronutrients, iodine, vitamin A and iron supplementation – proved effective in saving lives.

1980-1989: The silent emergency

Despite decades of humanitarian work, by 1980 some 15 million children were still dying of preventable causes each year. At this time, the ‘Child Survival Revolution’ began:

• ‘Days of Tranquillity’ were launched by UNICEF to immunise children in conflict zones.
• ‘Education for all’ became a rallying cry for global development.
• Children and women found their lives increasingly engulfed by war and violence – and the expanding HIV/AIDS pandemic.

1990-1999: Recognising child rights

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1990, went on to become the most universally adopted international treaty in history. Also during this decade:

• The World Summit for Children brought together the largest-ever gathering of world leaders.
• Conflicts and genocide put children at risk from landmines, starvation and trafficking, and denied their right to a childhood.