Global

Inequitable access to nutritious diets, nutrition services and positive nutrition and care practices has compounded global gender inequality, undermining women’s and girls’ ability to live healthy and productive lives. It also has devastating impacts on the survival and future health of their children. Good nutrition is fundamental for the health…

This Large Scale Fortification Guidance Note is to support governments to plan and implement LSFF programmes for the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies in children, women, and communities. Such programming should be implemented as part of a comprehensive approach to address micronutrient deficiencies, alongside other strategies such as…

Restorative practice describes a way of being, an underpinning ethos, which enables us to build and maintain healthy relationships. It provides a strong framework within which we can promote a whole-school ethos founded on the importance of relationships. This includes a range of approaches to managing conflict and tensions in a way that repairs…

The UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2022–2025, sets out the global, concrete results that UNICEF aims to achieve for children. The work will be conducted in close collaboration with partners in the United Nations, with governments, civil society and the private sector. The new Strategic Plan includes a number of shifts being made in UNICEF’s WASH…

Women have distinct nutritional requirements throughout their life – especially before and during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, when nutritional vulnerability is greatest. Ensuring women have nutritious diets and adequate services and care is fundamental for the survival and well-being of mothers and their children. Before pregnancy, women…, Resources, Publisher Title UNICEF Undernourished and Overlooked Nutrition Crisis Girls and Women Undernourished and Overlooked: A global nutrition crisis in adolescent girls and women UNICEF Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation: An approach to improving women’s nutrition during pregnancy and preventing low birthweight  UNICEF UNICEF Nutrition Data UNICEF…, UNICEF’s response, A mother, 19 years old, breastfeeds her infant in India, in 2010. A mother, 19 years old, breastfeeds her infant in India, in 2010. Improving women’s diets, access to nutrition services, and nutrition and care practices – before and during pregnancy and while breastfeeding – is critical to preventing malnutrition in all its forms. This is…

After early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence – the period from age 5 to 19 – is a second window of opportunity for growth, psychosocial development, and establishing lifelong dietary and lifestyle habits. Good nutrition during this period fuels growing brains and bodies, and improves school enrolment, educational achievement and…, Resources,     Publisher Title UNICEF A Systems Approach to Improving Children’s Diets A Systems Approach to Improving Children’s Diets UNICEF Shifting the Narrative on Childhood Overweight & Obesity: A new playbook for effective advocacy Shifting the Narrative on Childhood Overweight & Obesity: A new playbook for effective advocacy UNICEF Food…, UNICEF’s response, Kufekisa (18 yrs), Dorcas (17 yrs), Haggar (19 yrs) and Joshua (17 yrs) are all learners at the Nampundwe Secondary School who received education bursaries as part of the UNICEF supported SEEVCA sites in the Shibuyunji District Lusaka. Students at the Nampundwe Secondary School in Zambia, 2020. The prevention of malnutrition in school-age children…

Good nutrition is the bedrock of child survival, growth, and development. Well-nourished children are better able to learn, play and participate in their communities. They are also more resilient in the face of illness and crisis. Since 2000, the world has reduced the proportion of children under 5 suffering from stunting by one third and the…, Resources, Publisher Title UNICEF UNICEF Nutrition Data UNICEF Nutrition Data UNICEF Nutrition, for Every Child: UNICEF Nutrition Strategy 2020–2030 Nutrition, for Every Child: UNICEF Nutrition Strategy, 2020–2030 UNICEF The State of the World’s Children 2023: Children, food and nutrition UNICEF Nutrition, for Every Child: Global Annual Results Report, 2022…, UNICEF’s response, Mothers wait outside Washe Faka Health Post with their children in Mareko Woreda (district) in SNNP Region, one of the drought-affected regions in Ethiopia where UNICEF provides health and nutrition support including ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), therapeutic milks, routine medications and support for community-based management of acute…, Explore areas of our work, child eating Early childhood nutrition, Children need the right foods at the right time to grow and develop to their full potential. The most critical time for good nutrition is during the 1,000-day period from pregnancy until a child’s second birthday. Learn more, Rashid and Majid are friends and eat mixed vegetable soup at Herat Park, a western province of Afghanistan. Nutrition in middle childhood and adolescence, After early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence – the period from age 5 to 19 – is a second window of opportunity for growth, psychosocial development, and establishing lifelong dietary and lifestyle habits. Learn more, Razoeliarinala Tamby, 26, buys food at a market in Ambanitsena, Madagascar, 2019. Maternal nutrition, During pregnancy and breastfeeding, women become particularly vulnerable to malnutrition. Energy and nutrient needs increase at this time, and meeting them is critical to protecting women’s health and that of their child – in the womb and throughout early childhood. Learn more, Fatima, a 10-month-old baby, is screened by doctors and diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition, in the hospital of the Kishim district in the North of Afghanistan. Nutrition and care for children with wasting, Wasting is the most immediate, visible and life-threatening form of malnutrition. It results from the failure to prevent malnutrition among the most vulnerable children. Learn more, Mundene, 21, is screened for malnutrition as she cradles her two-month-old baby Melesech at the Gedebe Health Post in Halaba Special Woreda, Ethiopia, in 2016. Maternal and child nutrition in humanitarian action, Driven by conflict, climate change, epidemics, and disasters, humanitarian crises are leaving millions of children and women malnourished and jeopardizing their survival, growth and development. Learn more, A child holds up plastic bananas during a class at a community pre-school in Sokang Commune, Cambodia, in 2015. Partnerships and governance for nutrition, Countries with poor nutrition governance have weak or limited policies protecting maternal and child nutrition – and few accountability mechanisms. Decision-making may be influenced by political or corporate interests rather than the nutrition needs and rights of children and women. In these settings, the most vulnerable are often least able to…, Happy children in the village of Kpatrakaha, in the region of Korhogo, in the North of Côte d’Ivoire, 2020. Making systems work for nutrition, National governments have the primary responsibility of upholding children’s and women’s rights to nutrition. To do this effectively, they need strong, resilient systems that help prevent all forms of malnutrition and deliver timely treatment and care when prevention falls short. Multiple systems – including food, health, water and sanitation,…, Key planned results for 2025, Nutrition partnerships, UNICEF collaborates with many nutrition partners at global, regional and country levels to scale up nutrition policies, strategies and programmes that accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Sustainable Development Goals , including Goal 2: to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition. As part of its convening role,…

The UNICEF Nutrition Strategy 2020 – 2030: Nutrition, for Every Child outlines UNICEF’s strategic intent to support national governments and partners in upholding children’s right to nutrition, and ending malnutrition in all its forms over the next decade. Today, at least one in three children is not growing well because of malnutrition. New…

When you picture child malnutrition, what do you see? Find out why one in three children isn't growing well

Interpersonal violence affects the lives of millions of children across the world. Up to 50% of all children aged 2 to 17 years are thought to have been affected by a form of violence (physical, sexual or emotional abuse) in the past year – the equivalent of 1 billion children. Schools are in a unique position to address and prevent violence…

For far too many students around the world, school is a dangerous place. We asked young people about their experiences with violence in and around schools – and what they feel needs to be done to stop it. The response was overwhelming, with more than a million young people having their say. More than 2 in 3 young people said they worry about…, Overarching principles, Diversity and tolerance Equality is the foundation of promoting diversity and tolerance in schools. Equality should be taught and demonstrated at home and reinforced in schools. We must recognize that we are all equal. Our differences, including culture, gender, identity, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, race, ethnicity, migration…, We commit, Being kind We commit to being respectful and careful in how we treat our community and to speak up when it is safe to do so. Kindness is a responsibility that begins with each of us. Reporting violence We commit to breaking taboos and the victimization around reporting violence. We will seek out trusted authorities such as teachers, counsellors,…, We demand, Take us seriously We demand that our parents, guardians, schools as institutions, policymakers, and communities recognize our essence of being, our equality, our right to dignity, our right to exist in harmony in environments that are free of violence in all its forms. We demand that where violence may exist it must be addressed with the required…, Find out more

In the course of UNICEF’s work during the past decade, the child-friendly school (CFS) model has emerged as the organization’s signature means to advocate for and promote quality education for every girl and boy. The model can be viewed as a package solution and a holistic instrument for pulling together a comprehensive range of quality education…, Get the latest data, research and analysis on the issues affecting children around the world., Browse all UNICEF publications, Discover our latest reports and explore by topic. May 2009, 49094Engish.indd 1 2/16/09 10:03:02 AM 49094Engish.indd 2 2/16/09 10:03:30 AM 49089IntroCvr.indd 2 3/16/09 10:47:58 AM Quality education is education that works for every child and enables all children to achieve their full potential. The Child-Friendly Schools Manual was developed during three-and-a-half years of continuous work, involving UNICEF…