UNICEF

American  

[yoo-nuh-sef] / ˈyu nəˌsɛf /

noun

1. United Nations Children's Fund: an agency, created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946, concerned with improving the health and nutrition of children and mothers throughout the world; Nobel Peace Prize 1965.

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UNICEF British  

/ ˈjuːnɪˌsɛf /

acronym

1. United Nations Children's Fund (formerly, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund): an agency of the United Nations that administers programmes to aid education and child and maternal health in developing countries

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Etymology

Origin of UNICEF

U(nited) N(ations) I(nternational) C(hildren's) E(mergency) F(und) (an earlier official name)

Example Sentences

More than 4.5 million children in the country of 40 million have been denied schooling, according to UNICEF.

From Barron's • Nov. 13, 2025

At last the WHO, UNICEF, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency were able to start vaccinating children.

From Slate • Oct. 22, 2024

“People are educated — they know their children can get sick very easily,” said Jonathan Crick, a Jerusalem-based spokesman for UNICEF, the world body’s agency for children.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2024

Another was UNICEF, whose director Joanna Rea said the new government "must immediately prioritise support for its youngest and most vulnerable citizens, starting with ending the two-child limit policy and removing the benefit cap".

From BBC • Jul. 17, 2024

Growing up, the only white men I ever saw worked for either the UN or UNICEF.

From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana