Tremendous progress in child and maternal health has been achieved over the past decades. More babies today live to celebrate their fifth birthday, while fewer mothers lose their lives during pregnancy and childbirth. But millions of women and children are still dying from causes that can be prevented with quality health care.

UNICEF works around the world to keep children safe from disease and illness by strengthening health systems in communities, and across nations. 

Poverty denies children their fundamental rights to health, protection, education and much more. Without global action, child poverty is likely to entrench social inequality and cut off the most vulnerable girls and boys from the services they need to survive and thrive.

An estimated 1 billion children worldwide lack necessities as basic as nutrition or clean water. Of them, over 300 million live in extreme poverty. UNICEF invests in improving social services so that all children can have their basic needs met.

Good nutrition is the bedrock of child development. Well-nourished children are better able to grow and learn, to participate in their communities, and to be resilient in the face of disease, disaster and other emergencies.

UNICEF works to lower the barriers to good nutrition, with a focus on preventing all forms of malnutrition. We do this to ensure that all children have the nutritious and affordable diets they need to reach their full potential.

The right to education means the right to learn. But children worldwide are unable to attend school, or to develop basic reading and math skills, for various reasons. Poverty remains one of the most obstinate barriers. Children living through political instability, conflict or natural disaster are also more likely to be cut off from schooling – as are those with disabilities, or from ethnic minorities. In some countries, education opportunities for girls remain severely limited.

UNICEF focuses on equity and inclusion to provide all children – no matter who they are, where they live or how much their family earns – with quality learning opportunities, from early childhood through adolescence.

Gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, child marriage, an education denied ─ gender inequality takes many harmful forms.

Gender equality is a fundamental human right. It's also a precondition for economic growth and prosperity. UNICEF works across the world so that all children enjoy the same resources, opportunities and protections, no matter their gender. We focus on programmes that empower girls and young women, on positive parenting, and on data analysis to help governments address barriers to gender equality.

Contaminated water and poor sanitation are among the leading causes of death for children under 5. Without safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), children face an increased risk of preventable diseases and malnutrition. They're also less likely to attend school.

UNICEF works to bring clean water and proper sanitation and hygiene facilities to homes, schools and health centres so that children can grow and learn safely.

Children worldwide face a host of environmental hazards related to unclean energy, like polluted air, contaminated water and toxic fumes. Access to clean, affordable energy is critical to a child's health. But renewable energy can also improve access to water through solar-powered pumps, or access to learning through off-grid lighting and connectivity.

UNICEF works with partners to support sustainable energy solutions that improve children’s health and development.

Some 1.8 billion young people are on the brink of adulthood. And nearly 60 per cent of them are projected to lack the skills they need to work and thrive by 2030. UNICEF and partners, through Generation Unlimited, are on a mission to skill the world’s young people and connect them to opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship and social impact.

UNICEF has a long history of innovating in humanitarian and development contexts. Whether it's deploying drones to deliver life-saving vaccines, using cryptocurrencies to hook schools to the internet, harnessing solar power to bring water to villages, or developing chatbots that keep young people connected to emergency information, we do what it takes to find scalable solutions for widespread challenges.

Around the world, children are cut off from essential care and services on the basis of race, gender, disability, language, religion and ethnicity. Without investments to shield children from the lifelong consequences of discrimination and exclusion, progress towards equality will stall. 

UNICEF helps countries build social protection systems that reach the children most at risk, to help ensure every child gets an equitable chance in life. 

More than half of the world’s population live in urban areas, with hundreds of millions confined to slums or informal settlements. Children living in slums are often cut off from essential services like health care, education and sanitation.

UNICEF partners with urban communities to bring quality services to children in informal settlements, and with national governments to help plan and finance child-friendly public spaces. 

Global consumption and production trends deplete valuable natural resources and create toxic waste. Children are the least responsible for environmental degradation, yet they'll bear the greatest burden of its impact – mostly in the form of health and developmental issues.

Decades of evidence shows that widespread behaviour change, such as recycling and using less plastic, often begins with children. That's why UNICEF engages young people to promote responsible, climate-friendly consumption behaviours and to set an example for their communities.

Virtually every child on the planet is already affected by climate change. Natural disasters, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss cut children off from nutritious foods, clean air and safe water. They lead to dangerous disease outbreaks, and destroy the shelter, health care and education systems girls and boys need to thrive.

The climate crisis is a child rights crisis. Children make up half of the world’s population. But they bear no responsibility for the greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation and other hazardous practices harming our environment.

The impacts of climate change are being felt around the world. And for many children, a change in climate is felt through a change in water.

In times of drought or of flood, in areas where the sea level has risen or where snow has unseasonably melted, children lose the water they depend on. Nearly a quarter of the world's population lives in low-lying coastal areas or Small Island Developing States, where rising sea levels have already rendered water undrinkable as saltwater infiltrates freshwater sources.

UNICEF brings clean water and safe hygiene to communities impacted by water scarcity, especially in the most climate-vulnerable countries on the planet.

The widespread destruction of the natural world threatens the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. Across the globe, children are standing up against land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. UNICEF commends young climate activists and creates platforms on which they can build their movements for peace and prosperity. 

No child should be exposed to violence, abuse or neglect. Yet millions of children worldwide face violence at home or at school, in their communities or online. Violence takes many forms: emotional, physical, sexual. And its effects can last a lifetime. 

Governments offer the first line of defense for children at risk – birth registration systems that give children legal claim to vital social services, equitable justice systems and other forms of child protection.

UNICEF works to end the multiple kinds of violence children face around the world by helping governments build stronger child protection systems – including by supporting health, social work, justice and law enforcement programmes – and challenging existing norms related to violence, exploitation and abuse.

Partnerships are critical to achieve results for every child. Everyone has a role to play in advancing the SDGs.

UNICEF’s ability to support and empower children and their families depends on our partners, who provide critical resources that enable us to reach children wherever they are. We work with a broad range of partners at the global, regional, country and local levels, across the public and private sectors.

Our students became environmental volunteers for recycling

Şehit Furkan Doğan İmam Hatip Secondary School, Yasemin Ata Yürek

Our forests are our source of oxygen

Şehit Furkan Doğan İmam Hatip Secondary School Yasemin Ata Yürek 

The happiest person in this world is the one who gives happiness

The loved one in this world is the one who knows how to love

The strongest person in this world is the one who comes from difficulty

The most knowledgeable person in this world is the one who knows himself

If only the whole world believed in this, if only life could be a feast

If people hold hands, unite, reach out forever

If only the whole world believed in this, if only life could be a feast

If people hold hands, unite, reach out forever

1st Class activity about "RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION"

With this coding activity we tried to raise awareness of our students abaout "clean water and sanitation" and discussed what can we do nationally&internationally .

Daria and Bianca

We are not afraid of pollution, the environment is our name.

Throw away batteries, glass and bottles and recycle them.

Throw away batteries, glass and bottles and recycle them.

Water means life, whatever the sound of one hand has, the sound of two hands has.

Instead of wasting water, let's water the trees, let's not waste water, water is our life. You and we are all environmentalists, stop wasting, we are open to savings.

Recycle batteries, glass and bottles. Come and let's protect the environment with us.

I will protect the nature of batteries, glass and bottles, I will not leave them to fate. I will keep it clean with you.

If you want fruit, come and plant trees with us.