The Creation of UNICEF

Do the world’s children need UNICEF? The care for children is, or should be, a natural concern for all parents and relatives, and for the local community. At the national level, governments should ensure that children receive proper health care, adequate nutrition, and basic education and training, and that they are safeguarded from violence, exploitation, poverty and discrimination. The problems faced by families and nations in providing adequate care and protection to children in certain areas and particularly in times of conflict have caused, in the twentieth century, the creation of international organizations needed to complement or even assume entirely these tasks, generally on a temporary basis. Some of the organizations which preceded UNICEF were either fully dedicated to children’s welfare or included children as beneficiaries, together with their family, in their relief action. Some organizations were (and some still are) non-governmental — the Commission for Relief in Belgium, the Save the Children Fund — some were intergovernmental — the League of Nations and the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. The latter’s demise led directly to the difficult birth of UNICEF, with the determining influence of such individuals as Dr Ludwig Rajchman and delegates of ‘like-minded’ countries against the opposition of the USA and the other western countries and of the UN specialized agencies fearing the competition of an intruder in their domain.