UNICEF also provides a relief network for children and their parents or other caregivers in the aftermath of disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, and droughts. It has worked extensively with children from war-torn countries to help alleviate their suffering. The organization works to prevent child abuse, child labor, sexual, exploitation of children, and the use of children as soldiers. In the United States, UNICEF has focused its work on inner-city children victimized by random violence and gang warfare.
UNICEF has provided immunizations to millions of children against potentially fatal diseases, such as diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, polio, and tuberculosis. UNICEF’s promotion of basic health-care delivery systems and treatments, such as rehydration therapy for children suffering from diarrhea, has also contributed to dramatic reductions in child mortality. In response to the global epidemic of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), UNICEF works to prevent the transmission of AIDS and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in young people and to obtain medicine for infected individuals. It also helps communities, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, care for the millions of children orphaned by the death of their parents from AIDS.
UNICEF receives financial support from more than 150 national governments. Like many international aid organizations, however, UNICEF faces shrinking government subsidies for the work it performs. UNICEF's challenge in the years ahead is to attract a great percentage of its funding from foundations, corporations, and individuals to ensure its programs can continue.