UNICEF

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Open Source App Takes on Ebola and Mental Health in Liberia

Angie Nyakoon and Amanda Gbarmo Ndorbor are two outspoken and energetic women who oversee the Mental Health Unit at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW) in Liberia. Together, they're applying a new open source app called mHero (that was first used to help them deal with the Ebola crisis) to the mental health issues that have arisen in the aftermath of the epidemic due to displacement and abandonment...mHero provides a trusted channel that facilitates two-way communication using SMS and interactive voice response for sending and receiving critical information to and from frontline health workers, in real time...

Philippines National Telehealth Center Leverages Innovative Open Solutions to Provide Equitable Access to Quality Healthcare

Priyankar Bhunia | Open Gov Asia | March 21, 2017

OpenGov had the opportunity to speak to Dr. Portia Grace Fernandez-Marcelo, Director of the UP (University of Philippines) Manila-National Telehealth Center (NTHC) about using ICT to provide equitable access to quality healthcare for all, specially in isolated and disadvantaged communities. NTHC is one of the pioneers in the Philippines developing cost-effective ICT tools and innovations for improving healthcare and deploying solutions in communities where they are required most urgently...

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UN Invests $9m in 'Open Source' Tech to Aave Children's Lives

Matt Burgess | WIRED | February 1, 2016

The United Nations will fund 60 startups to create open source technologies to improve the lives of children in developing countries. Unicef, the children's charity run by the UN, will channel more than $9 million into startups based on venture capital-style investing. But it isn't concerned if the companies fail. The money from Unicef's Innovation Fund will go to around 50 to 60 startups using open-source technology, and which have working prototypes. Each will get approximately $50,000 to help them grow. Companies have to be at an early stage and will be picked based on the strength of their teams, the work's relevance to children, and their future potential...

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UNICEF Airlifts Lifesaving Supplies to Yemen to Combat Cholera as Cases Surpass 200,000

Press Release | UNICEF | June 28, 2017

Three UNICEF charter planes have delivered 36 tons of lifesaving medical and water purification supplies to Yemen to scale up efforts to combat the world’s worst cholera outbreak. The supplies included, 750,000 sachets of Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) enough to treat 10,000 people,   10.5 million water purification tablets and other sanitation items...

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UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake and WHO Director-General Margaret Chan on the Cholera Outbreak in Yemen as Suspected Cases Exceed 200,000

Press Release | UNICEF | June 24, 2017

“The rapidly spreading cholera outbreak in Yemen has exceeded 200,000 suspected cases, increasing at an average of 5,000 a day. We are now facing the worst cholera outbreak in the world. “In just two months, cholera has spread to almost every governorate of this war-torn country.  Already more than 1,300 people have died – one quarter of them children – and the death toll is expected to rise...

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Unicef Is Funding Blockchain and Health Tech to Solve the World’s Biggest Problems

Mark Burgess | WIRED | November 15, 2016

The United Nations has announced the first five startups to receive investment through its its $9 million (£7.2m) innovation fund. Unicef, the UN's children's charity, will be giving seed funding to companies working to create affordable mobile connectivity, blockchain in childhood development, data collection in maternal care, and technology to help improve literacy skills. The funding comes as part of Unicef's Innovation Fund – launched in February – and will see the organisation put up to $100,000 into each of the five firms...

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UNICEF launches Cryptocurrency Fund to Support Open Source Technology Benefiting Children

Press Release | UNICEF | October 9, 2019

UNICEF will now be able to receive, hold and disburse donations of cryptocurrencies ether and bitcoin, through its newly-established UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund. In a first for United Nations organizations, UNICEF will use cryptocurrencies to fund open source technology benefiting children and young people around the world. Under the structure of the UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund, contributions will be held in their cryptocurrency of contribution, and granted out in the same cryptocurrency. "This is a new and exciting venture for UNICEF," said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. "If digital economies and currencies have the potential to shape the lives of coming generations, it is important that we explore the opportunities they offer. That's why the creation of our Cryptocurrency Fund is a significant and welcome step forward in humanitarian and development work." Read More »

When Linux Is the Face of Kindness

My late father, Lou Shapiro, was an early leader of UNICEF, so relief work was baked into the genetics of my family. His work was centered on emergency relief for the survivors of earthquakes and other natural disasters. Whenever there was an earthquake in the world, I knew dad would be coming home late from work—and I was so proud that some family experiencing trauma would be sleeping in a dry tent, with warm blankets and clean water, because of my dad's work...