United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF):
1. Created in 1946, UNICEF concentrates exclusively on the task of improving the lot of disadvantaged children.
2. UNICEF has undertaken projects on health, education, malaria eradication, nutrition, rural development, family and child welfare and emergency aid to promote child welfare.
3. In recognition of its social and humanitarian efforts, UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965. It focuses on India in a very big way.
4. UNICEF has made an important contribution to a better environment for children in India and identified the problem of excess fluoride in groundwater resources. Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are the most severely affected states.
5. WHO's objectives are: (i) preventing the spread of disease.
6. The means adopted to prevent the spread of disease include Conventions providing international standards for public health.
7. WHO's has been a clearing house for scientific knowledge and an exchange of information for curing disease. WHO's activity in the area of preventing the outbreak of disease is to facilitate the exchange of findings and promotion of research.
8. It has encouraged research with cheap preventatives, especially vaccines for tuberculosis and DDT for malaria.
9. The campaign against malaria has been one of WHO's biggest all-out programme.
10. Since heterosexual transmission of the human immune deficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS is becoming the predominant mode of spread of HIV in most countries of the world, WHO is engaged in research for a vaccine to cure AIDS for which it needs financial support from rich member countries to meet the challenge of deadly disease.
11. A very important WHO programme is Polio Eradication Immunization.Polio is the first disease of the 21st century to be eradicated.Another important campaign of the UN health agency,WHO is against the use of tobacco especially in developing countries.
12. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) concentrates on rural development.This Rome-based agency works known as alleviation of poverty and hunger by promoting agriculture development,improved nutrition and of easy access of food. The international Labour Organisation (ILO) helps nations in enhancing the living and working standards of industrial workers. The UN Industrial Development Organization strives for industrial development of developing countries in the era of globalisation.
13. With the end of the Second World War came the conviction that wars begin in the minds of men and ignorance fosters suspicions and hatreds on which wars breed. It was felt that international collaboration could bring knowledge and greater undertaking among peoples.
