UNICEF UK Trustees Report and Financial Statements 2010

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The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF Report of the Trustees For the year ended 31 December 2010 and sanitation often hit children and women the hardest, increasing their vulnerability to disease. Rainwater harvesting technology collects and stores water during the rainy season, providing a source of safe water at times of drought. We have also helped children learn safe hygiene and sanitation practices. Hygiene promotion at school creates conditions where children are agents of change in their families and communities, encouraging good practice in sanitation. Previous interventions have proved that the provision of safe water at school premises encourages the enrolment, retention and performance of children at school. The facilities benefit girls in particular, who often used to miss going to school because they had to travel large distances to collect water for their families. Climate change in Kenya UNICEF UK’s report Climate change in Kenya: focus on children brought climate models to life with stories from children on the impact of climate change in different regions of Kenya. It also provided examples of how UNICEF can support children in Kenya to adapt to and reduce the impact of climate change. The Brookings Institute, an influential Washington think-tank, cited the study in one of its reports. Climate ambassadors Two of UNICEF UK’s young Climate Ambassadors became founder members of the Department for Energy and Climate Change Youth Panel. Thanks to lobbying and campaigning, child rights and the voice of young people were high on the UK Government’s agenda at the 2010 UN Climate Change Conference at Cancun, Mexico. In December, with support from Energy and Climate Change Minister Charles Hendry the panel produced a groundbreaking report outlining their vision for a low carbon UK. UNICEF UK influenced the UK Government through lobbying, reports and work with young people to promote understanding and acceptance of the importance of intergenerational justice in addressing climate change (that is, the right of children/future generations to a clean environment). We ran successful events on climate change at all three main party conferences. At the Liberal Democrat conference, Paddy Ashdown, President of UNICEF UK, hosted a climate change reception with Secretary of State Chris Huhne, and one of our young climate ambassadors spoke on child rights and climate change at a fringe event. UNICEF UK’s carbon footprint Recognising our own responsibilities, UNICEF UK joined the 10:10 campaign and set ourselves the objective of reducing our carbon footprint by at least 30 per cent per staff member over the three years to the end of 2010. In 2007, we were responsible for more than 1,981 tonnes of CO 2 emissions from our energy use, travel and paper consumption. This equated to 12.8 tonnes per full-time equivalent staff member. By the end of 2010, we had reduced our carbon footprint to 1,441 tonnes, or 7.2 tonnes per staff member – a reduction of 44 per cent over the three years. We have achieved these reductions by implementing a policy and action plan to reduce our resource consumption, re-use and recycle as much waste as possible 20
The United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF Report of the Trustees For the year ended 31 December 2010 and inspire all staff to be environmental champions. The actions we have taken include introducing energy efficient and motion sensitive electrical equipment, promoting cycling by staff, encouraging trains over planes, stopping the use of disposable items and switching to sustainable products, recycling as much as we possibly can, and composting our food waste. Instead of offsetting our carbon emissions, we compensate for them by funding UNICEF projects that help children affected by climate change via our Carbon Positive initiative. We spend at least as much on these projects as we would have to pay to offset our emissions. Children in emergencies For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been a leader in providing life-saving assistance and protection for children caught up in emergencies around the globe. With a permanent presence in more than 190 countries, UNICEF is poised to respond rapidly wherever and whenever disaster strikes, delivering life-saving help for children in the key areas of health and nutrition, water and sanitation, education, child protection, coordination and logistics. UNICEF UK committed £36.1 million to help the millions of children caught up in emergencies in 2010. We supported humanitarian relief work in 24 countries and regions. This sum includes £20.8 million from the Department for International Development (DFID). Our Children’s Emergency Fund is vital in our response to help vulnerable children caught up in under-reported or often completely ignored humanitarian crisis around the world. It allows us to deliver a rapid response to children in so-called ‘silent’ emergencies that do not attract much media attention and where a public appeal for funds may not be appropriate or possible. The 2010 Alliance Ball raised £135,000 for the Fund. In August, UNICEF UK Ambassador for Humanitarian Emergencies Martin Bell visited Yemen to report on this largely forgotten children’s emergency. His article featured in the Mail on Sunday and a personal appeal to our supporters raised more than £140,000. Haiti, earthquake and cholera On 12 January, a massive earthquake hit the Caribbean nation of Haiti, killing more than 220,000 people and injuring 300,000. The disaster left tens of thousands of children orphaned or separated from their parents. It affected 3 million people (30 per cent of the population), including almost 1.5 million children. It was a double disaster in the sense that it destroyed the infrastructure of what was already one of the poorest nations on Earth with the highest rate of infant mortality in the western hemisphere. The response from UNICEF UK supporters was overwhelming; by the end of 2010, we had transferred nearly £9.7 million to help Haiti’s children. Within days, our supporters enabled UNICEF to deliver planeloads of life-saving health, nutrition, water and sanitation supplies for more than 250,000 children, giving crucial early prevention against child dehydration, disease and malnutrition. At the 21
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UNICEF UK Trustees Report and Financial Statements 2010

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