UNICEF

08 May 2008 -- The U.N. Children's Fund estimates one-third of all those killed by Cyclone Nargis in Burma are children. Burmese authorities report more than 22,000 people lost their lives and more than 40,000 are still missing.

The U.N. Children's Fund says in any disaster, children suffer the most. And, the disaster, which hit Burma a few days ago, is no exception.

Deputy Director of UNICEF's Office of Emergency Programs, Pierrette Vu Thi, says children are most at risk from getting sick. During a disaster, she says children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.    » read more »

20 December 2007 -- UNICEF recommends that women breast feed during the first few months of their baby’s life to improve the child’s chances of survival. Health specialists say that’s because of the important ingredients available in the milk, especially in the portion called colostrum. That message and others were emphasized at a forum held at the headquarters of the Development Communications Network in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital recently to mark annual breastfeeding week.    » read more »

29 August 2007, Washington (By Ray McDonald) -- Angelina Jolie visited Iraq on August 28 to meet with refugees and U.S. troops.

Jolie - a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - made the visit during a two-day trip to the region, according to an agency statement.

It said the 32-year-old actress met August 27 with displaced Iraqis in neighboring Syria before briefly crossing into Iraq "to see firsthand the plight of hundreds of thousands of families uprooted by the ongoing conflict."    » read more »

03 July 2007 -- U.N. agencies say that Mozambique is undergoing a severe drought. They say hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people will need increased humanitarian assistance over the coming months to help them survive until next year's harvest in April.

Mozambique has been lurching from one natural disaster to another. The current drought follows heavy flooding and a devastating cyclone earlier this year. Those disasters affected hundreds of thousands of people. Homes, crops and livelihoods were destroyed.    » read more »