Every child should have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential. But the world remains a deeply unfair place for the poorest and most marginalised children.
It’s simply not fair that a child's birthplace, gender or parents' income can determine their chance of a good life.
It's not fair that one in two people in Chad can't access clean water; that refugee children in Iraq are robbed of their homes, friends and communities. And it's not fair that students in Ethiopia can't go to class because they spend all day searching for water.
This inequality is not inevitable.
Find out how you can fight unfair.
A chance at life for Hawa
Hawa was barely one year old when she started showing signs of malnutrition.
Her worried mother, Mariama, brought her to the local health clinic, where UNICEF is supporting the therapeutic feeding Hawa will need to survive and recover.
But Mariama’s other children didn’t have the same chance.
“My third baby died because when his temperature became hot we had no money and were not able to buy medicine. The free healthcare programme had not started. Instead the baby remained in our hands and God took the baby’s life.”
Mariama’s baby was not unlucky. Before he drew his first breath, his life was decided by the country, the community and the circumstances into which he were born.
It doesn't need to be this way
The world has made tremendous progress in reducing child deaths, getting children into school and lifting families out of poverty. Change is possible and it continues today.
UNICEF helps the world's most disadvantaged and marginalised children to survive and thrive beyond childhood.