09
annual report
2009 United States Fund.
2009: Closer and Closer to Zero Somewhere, right now, a child is suffering stricken by a cause people in the U.S. rarely, if ever, have to worry about. Acute malnutrition. Malaria. Diarrhea from drinking bad water. Untreated pneumonia.
And the a w f u l t r u t h i s , that ch i l d m a y d i e . Because every day, 24,000 children die — even though the medicines, vaccines, and technologies that could save them already exist.
But we cannot truly celebrate until we reach the day when the number of children who die from preventable causes is zero. Any number greater than zero is unacceptable. We are getting closer all the time. And with your continuing support of UNICEF and the U.S. Fund, we are certain to get there.
Since its inception, UNICEF’s main goals have been to reach as many children as possible with effective, low-cost solutions to counter the biggest threats to their survival, and to provide them with the protection and education all children deserve. UNICEF’s work is having an extraordinary impact.
childs death per day (thousands)
This year, we were able to announce that the number of children under the age of fi ve who die each day has dropped signifi cantly: from 25,500 three years ago to 24,000 today. In fact, over the last 50 years, UNICEF and its partners have helped cut the worldwide child mortality rate by more than half. Most notably, new statistics show that the decline in child mortality is actually accelerating, even as the overall population increases.
Number of childs death per day, 1991-2008
35
30
25
1991
1994
1997
2001
2004
2008
Getting Results, Saving Lives UNICEF makes the most of your support, saving and improving children’s lives through innovative, affordable, and proven strategies. For example, UNICEF reaches more than half of the world’s children with inexpensive immunizations against lethal diseases like measles and tetanus.
In 2008, UNICEF bought 2.6 billion doses of vaccines to protect children throughout the world. It also remains one of the largest purchasers of anti-malaria bed nets last year alone, UNICEF distributed 19 million of these lifesaving nets in 48 countries. In response to the global food crisis, UNICEF increased its acquisition of ready-to-use therapeutic foods by 450 percent over the last two years. These “miracle” foods, such as the high-protein paste Plumpy’nut®, have the power to quickly bring a child back from the verge of starvation and are saving many lives in the intensifying fight against malnutrition. Critical materials like these are distributed through UNICEF’s worldwide supply network, including its vast, state-of-the-art warehouse in Copenhagen and hubs in Dubai, Panama, and Shanghai.
None of this would be possible, of course, without UNICEF’s more than 10,000 highly skilled staff members who work in over 150 countries and territories to aid children threatened by disease, malnutrition, natural disaster, war, and exploitation. Ninety percent of UNICEF personnel work in the field everywhere from remote areas of countries like the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to bustling urban centers like Nairobi. They provide crucial emergency relief in the wake of crises and also develop and maintain long-term programs that safeguard children’s health and well-being. In confl ictridden countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia, these devoted workers often risk their own lives to save the lives of children. UNICEF’s work is funded exclusively by voluntary contributions from a diverse range of supporters, including individuals, non-governmental organizations, corporations, foundations, and governments all of whom are invaluable partners in the fight for children’s survival.
Advances Against HIV/AIDS
On the day her little girl died, Jacqueline a young Cameroonian mother of two endured a searing anguish no parent should ever experience. When her daughter fi rst became sick and feverish, she rushed her to a local doctor and then to herbalists. But they were unable to help, and the distraught mother watched hopelessly as her child slowly weakened and died.
Then Jacqueline started to feel sick herself. She soon found out that she was HIV-positive and began getting treatment. “As soon as I felt better, it was my son I was worried about,” she said. Five-year-old Giaum was also ill. His mother took him to the UNICEF-supported Chantal Biya Foundation, a hospital for children in Cameroon’s capital city, Yaoundé. There, Jacqueline learned the boy was also infected with HIV. He received free
medicine and health care at the facility and started getting better. When Jacqueline became pregnant again, she went back to the Chantal Biya Foundation to participate in a program for the prevention of HIV transmission from mother to child. Treating a woman with doses of an antiretroviral drug during pregnancy can decrease the chance of the virus being passed on to her unborn child.
For Jacqueline, the result was miraculous: her daughter Alexis was born HIV-free. UNICEF supports a range of critical HIV/AIDS initiatives in developing countries throughout the world, including Prevention-of-Mother-to-Child Transmission programs, pediatric AIDS treatment, prevention of new infections among adolescents, and many services that support and protect children orphaned by the disease. Through these and other efforts, UNICEF and its partners have made signifi cant strides against this merciless illness across the globe. Last year, more than 4 million people in low- and middle-income countries were receiving antiretroviral therapy, a ten-
fold increase over a fi ve-year period. The proportion of HIV-positive pregnant women in those countries receiving antiretroviral drugs has grown from 10 percent in 2004 to about 45 percent in 2008. The number of children under age 15 benefi ting from these life-prolonging drugs was more than 275,000 in 2008, a 39 percent increase over 2007. While this progress should be celebrated, monumental gaps remain. The unacceptable reality is that most children and HIV-positive pregnant women who need treatment still don’t have access to it. Jacqueline’s story is proof of the stunning success of these programs and it is also a source of solace for other mothers living with the virus. Using her experience to help others, Jacqueline now belongs to a UNICEF-supported advocacy group for HIV-positive mothers. As a counselor, she, in turn, provides them with advice and emotional support. To support UNICEF’s HIV/AIDS programs, please visit unicefusa.org/donate/hivaids
2009 Annual Report | U.S. Fund for UNICEF
Shielding Children from Malaria
The stunning beauty of the cloud capped peaks and azure waters of the northern Maluku Islands belies a lethal threat.
Communities in this isolated part of Indonesia have lost young and old alike to the menace of malaria. The disease, which kills approximately 1 million people worldwide every year, is spread through parasites that are transmitted from person to person by certain types of mosquitoes. Watery environments are perfect breeding grounds for the mosquitoes, which prey almost exclusively at night.
For Esther Rahmat, who lives in a small village accessible only by boat, the disease resulted in heartrending tragedy. When one of her twin twentyone-month-old daughters came down with a fever, she took the infant to the health clinic. “They said it was malaria,” Esther recalled. “They gave her something, but it was too late.”
The child died the next morning. Two of her neighbors’ babies also succumbed to malaria around the same time. Esther then contracted the disease herself and was treated at the hospital. When malaria doesn’t kill, it can lead to debilitating anemia, vomiting, convulsions, and diarrhea. In children, the disease can also impede mental and physical development. UNICEF and its partners are helping the government of Indonesia combat malaria through a prevention program that includes the mass distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets. Use of these nets, which cost less than $7 each, can reduce overall under-fi ve mortality rates by about 20 percent in areas where malaria is prevalent. UNICEF is one of the world’s largest buyers of the nets, acquiring 19 million in 2008 alone.
The number of nets purchased by UNICEF today is nearly 20 times greater than in 2000. UNICEF supports health clinics in Indonesia where mothers and young children receive the bed nets along with their basic immunizations. Pregnant women are also tested for malaria; if the result is positive, they are immediately given treatment. To protect her other children, Esther now sleeps with them under a new bed net. “I don’t worry when we go to sleep now,” she said. “I don’t worry about getting bitten by mosquitoes. We can all sleep peacefully.”
To purchase insecticide-treated mosquito nets to protect children against malaria, please visit: unicefusa.org/bednets
unic Leadership Across the U.S. A National Board of Directors governs the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Five Regional Boards carry out the U.S. Fund’s mission in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles. Our volunteer directors hail from all over the country with a diverse range of backgrounds the private sector, non-profit organizations, foundations, media, and publishing, just to name a few. What brings them together is a shared, unyielding dedication to child survival. Board members shape the U.S. Fund’s work, contribute expertise and funds, and build key relationships with important communities.
In May, National Board members Mary Callahan Erdoes, Pamela Fiori, and U.S. Fund President and CEO Caryl M. Stern hosted an event that convened over 100 outstanding women philanthropists in New York City to spotlight women who are championing charitable causes around the world. Building on its longterm relationship with the Southeast Regional Board, Delta Air Lines chose the U.S. Fund for the fi fth consecutive year as a charitable partner to receive donated miles from Delta customers (the U.S. Fund
has received a total of 73 million miles over the last fi ve years). In September 2008, members of the Southwest Regional Board organized the Mystique of India gala in Houston, which featured traditional Indian music and decorations and raised more than $714,000 for child survival programs in India.
The Midwest Regional Board maintained its vigorous support of UNICEF’s Accelerated Child Sur vival and Development program, surpassing the $5 million mark in a $6.5 million fundraising campaign that began in Januar y 2007. Board members from the Southern California region hosted ten cultivation events for their friends and area donors. The New England Regional Board and offi ce continued its Women’s Luncheon Series, which brought together professional and philanthropic women from Boston and featured presentations by UNICEF Rwanda Representative Joseph Foumbi and other speakers. In May, a U.S. Fund advisor y circle in Seattle gathered local donors to celebrate UNICEF’s work and engage new supporters. And in June, at a luncheon hosted by U.S. Fund friends in Denver, President and CEO Car yl M. Stern captivated the audience with fi rst-hand accounts of fi eld visits.
cef Inspiration Around the World
Fr o m B r a z i l t o Si e r r a L e o n e , In d i a t o Mo z a m b i q u e , Et h i o p i a t o V i e t n a m i n Fi s c a l Ye a r 2 0 0 9 , U . S . Fu n d f o r U N I C E F d o n o r s a n d p a r t n e r s t r a ve l e d t o c o u n t r i e s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d i n o rd e r t o o b s e r ve U N I C E F p r o g r a m s t h a t a re s a v i n g a n d i m p r ov i n g c h i l d re n’s l i ve s i n d y n a m i c , i n n ov a t i ve w a y s . A group visiting Myanmar in the wake of Cyclone Nargis spent time with UNICEF staff who were delivering emergency relief supplies as well as helping to identify more than 1,000 children separated from their families during the storm. A trip to Tanzania gave supporters the chance to see UNICEF-assisted childfriendly schools, which empower students to take an active role in their schools’ governance. Partners traveling to Honduras visited a UNICEF-supported program that feeds the children of street vendors and provides them with health care, immunizations, and other essential services. In Malawi, a U.S. Fund delegation saw the diverse and vital ways UNICEF is helping children in that country who are infected with HIV/AIDS. These field visits are an invaluable tool, enabling U.S. Fund partners and supporters to witness fi rst-hand the amazing breadth of UNICEF’s work. They illustrate what a profound difference each and every dollar donated to the U.S. Fund is making for children around the globe.
Message from the President Fiscal Year 2008/2009 represented the fourth year that the U.S. Fund for UNICEF has been engaged in internal control strengthening through documentation, implementation, and testing, which are critical to maintaining best practices. The U.S. Fund’s controls were proven effective during the financial crisis.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, in concert with U.S. Fund management, continues to focus on matters of compliance, accountability, data dependability, and risks that could affect the internal control systems of the organization.
Caryl M. Stern
President and CEO
Under the direction of the Audit Committee, U.S. Fund management has continued to assess the reliability and effectiveness of its internal controls reporting the findings back to the Audit Committee and sharing them with our independent auditors. We also have applied the same rigor when reviewing our Information Technology systems, where the focus has been on protecting donor privacy and fraud. We believe that continued enhancements to existing U.S. Fund internal controls, with oversight and periodic testing, will provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of fi nancial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Edward G. Lloyd
Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Financial Officer
U.S. Fund for UNICEF Supporters The following list reflects contributions made to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. UNICEF President’s Circle Gifts of $1,000,000 and above American Airlines BD* GUCCI Merck & Co., Inc. Pfi zer Inc. Pier 1 Imports, Inc. The Procter & Gamble Company *includes a multi-year pledge
UNICEF Directors’ Circle Gifts of $250,000 and above AMI Brands, LLC/Volvic IKEA U.S. ING Johnson & Johnson Kimberly-Clark Corporation Microsoft Corp. The NVIDIA Foundation The UPS Foundation
UNICEF Leaders’ Circle Gifts of $100,000 and above Bridgewater Associates, Inc. Cartier First Data Corporation GE Foundation Montblanc NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. Sweet People Apparel, Inc. Tiffany & Co. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Walsh/Valdes Productions Western Union Foundation We would also like to thank the following for donating valuable services and media in support of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s humanitarian efforts: Coinstar, Inc. Delta Air Lines Google, Inc.
Gifts of $1,000,000 and above
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Gifts of $250,000 and above Irene S. Scully Family Foundation
unicef United States fund
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