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United
Nations Children’s Fund /UNICEF/ in the Russian Federation
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SPECIAL ACTION
click here: UNICEF HELPS CHILDREN OF BESLAN |
United Nations Children’s Fund was set up to help children in
Europe after World War II.
The Convention on the Rights on the Child was adopted and ratified by 191 countries. Russia ratified the Convention in 1990.
At the World Summit for Children over a hundred states adopted a ten-year Plan of Action for Children and formulated goals and priorities in the field of healthcare, education and development. The UNICEF representation office was opened in Moscow in agreement with the Government of the Russian Federation in 1997.
The General Assembly Special Session on Children held in 2002 in New York, discussed the results on the World Summit for Children and agreed on “A World Fit for Children”, the agenda for the children and young people for the next decade.
The coordinator of UNICEF activities in the Russian Federation is the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation, together with its implementing partners - the Ministries of Health, Education, Justice, Internal and Foreign Affairs, as well as the appropriate regional governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The priorities of UNICEF programmes in the country are based on the Master Plan of Operations developed jointly by the Government of the Russian Federation and UNICEF.
Within the framework of programme cooperation, priority attention is given to:
- the analysis and documentation of the situations with regard to the rights and interests of children;
- the development of legal and institutional norms and mechanisms for their implementation;
- the selection and dissemination of effective, low-cost technologies directed towards the protection of the interests of families and children.
The programme “Early Childhood Development” includes such directions as encouragement of breastfeeding and elimination of iodine deficiency disorders through universal iodisation of salt.
The programme “Young People's Health and Development
In order to promote a more youth friendly environment in Russia, UNICEF and its partners have identified several priorities:
- providing young people with better access to information on a healthy lifestyle;
- designing and setting up youth-friendly health services, especially in the area of reproductive health;
- providing socio-psychological support for adolescents and young adults who find themselves in difficult circumstances;
- forming and introducing programmes to teach appropriate life skills to strengthen young peoples’ psychological and social competence;
creating opportunities for self-realisation and self-organisation of young people within the framework of various civic, social and cultural initiatives.
HIV/AIDS
prevention and providing aid to HIV-affected children is one of the major priorities
of UNICEF.
The programme “Children in Need of Special Protection” is aimed at those who turned out in difficult living situation, who are left without parental care and find themselves in residential state institutions or on the streets, those who, because of their special needs or particular circumstances, are deprived of an adequate education or other social services, those who are the victims of crime, violence, exploitation or civil disturbance. There is a lot of activities implemented in the area of deinstitunalisation and street children problems.
UNICEF in Russia is promoting and disseminating Convention on
the Rights of the Child, development of the Global Movement for Children and
Leave No Child Out Campaign, development and support of the network of Ombudsmen
for child rights in Russia, working closely with the business community and
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors in Russia - Anatoly Karpov, 16 times world chess
champion and Oleg Gazmanov, the popular singer and musician. 
The Emergency programme is aimed at children and women affected by the armed conflict in the Northern Caucasus. UNICEF supports and organizes school, kindergarden and extra curriculum education as well as vocational training, vaccination and providing prosthesis and psychological help to mine victims.
Contact:
information provided by the UNICEF Office in Moscow
© 2002 UN Russia Moscow | E-mail: info@unrussia.ru |
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