United States International Childrens Emergency Fund Research Paper

United States International Childrens Emergency Fund - Research Paper Example UNICEF served that purpose adequately. â€Å"For the postwar period 1946 to 1950, the "emergency needs approach" meant swift action to meet the food, clothing, and health needs of children, particularly in Europe† (Nobelprize.org). UNICEF spent $112000000 to provide as many as five million children with different clothing articles in twelve different countries along with vaccinating eight million children to fight tuberculosis. UNICEF also distributed various kinds of facilities among these countries. Children were provided with meals on daily basis. From 1951-1960, UNICEF adopted the approach of long-range benefit along with meeting the emergency needs. Several campaigns were carried out in order to improve the children’s health in general and reduce their susceptibility to yaws, tuberculosis, malaria, and leprosy. In the same decade, UNICEF also formulated several provisions for the improvement of environment, and devised programs for education of mothers. In the 1970 s, UNICEF had been working for children’s well-being for quite some time and was all set to advocate their rights. In the 1980s, UNICEF played an important role in the attempts of UN Commission on Human Rights to formulate the â€Å"Convention on the Rights of the Child† (History.com), which was readily approved as the most effective human rights treaty in the whole history in 1898, after it was introduced to the UN General Assembly. UNICEF had played a decisive role in the enforcement of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Of all 184 member states of UN, United States and Somalia were the only two countries that did not approve the treaty. The two countries had different reasons for non-ratification of the treaty. Somalia’s government was not recognized internationally. Accordingly, it was not in a position to ratify the treaty. On the other hand, although US was an original signatory of this treaty, yet US had reservations on the effect of the treaty on the parent-child relationship and the national sovereignty. UNICEF – Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize: It was on 26 October 1965, when UNICEF received the Nobel Peace Prize (â€Å"UNICEF History†). Nineteen years after its establishment, UNICEF got this Prize for promoting brotherhood and unity among different nations of the world, which is essentially a fundamental condition of the Nobel's will as well as appearing on the stage of the world as â€Å"a peace-factor of great importance† (â€Å"UNICEF History†). Several events led UNICEF to this entitlement that include but are not limited to improved coalition among governments, various non-governmental agencies and private organizations and the people all over the world in general. This provided them with more opportunities that could be availed to upgrade the lifestyle of children everywhere in the world. Henry R. Labouisse, the Executive Director of UNICEF expressed what achieving the Nobel Peace Prize meant to the UNICEF in these words: To all of us in UNICEF the prize will be a wonderful incentive to greater efforts in the name of peace. You have given us new strength. You have reinforced our profound belief that each time UNICEF contributes...to giving today’s children a chance to grow into useful and happier citizens, it contributes to removing some of the seeds of world tension and future

Stress and Immunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Stress and Immunity - Essay Example Numerous empirical findings in animals and humans substantiate linkage between physical and psychological types of stress and immunological adjustments. Adjustments in the immune response have been reported to go with bereavement, unemployment, coping with phobia, divorce, work-related stress, examinations, exercise, etc (Rice 2000). This essay discusses comprehensively the relationship between stress and immunity. The first section gives an overview of such relationship; the second presents a brief discussion of the cultural and social influences on stress and immunity; the third focuses on the relationship between stress and schizophrenia, with a discussion of policy and practice implications; and last sums up the entire discourse. Stress and Immunity The assumption that stress can increase the likelihood of acquiring physical illnesses is not completely unknown. Proofs that stress can bring about physical ailment started to build up in the 1930s (Edworthy 2000). The term ‘ps ychosomatic disease’— actual physical illnesses that were believed to be brought about, to a certain extent, by psychological aspects like stress-- was known far and wide. The common psychosomatic ailments were asthma, tension headaches, peptic ulcers, eczema, and high blood pressure (Rice 2000, 64). These illnesses were not considered as ‘unreal’ physical diseases. The concept of ‘psychosomatic’ has usually been used wrongly to denote physical illnesses that are ‘imagined,’ but that is a completely distinct set of symptoms (Rice 2000, 64). Instead, according to Lovallo (2005), psychosomatic illnesses were regarded as ‘real’ untreated problems that were profoundly caused by stress. The term ‘psychosomatic’ illness has slowly been neglected since the 1970s because studies have reported that stress can heighten the development of a wide range of other illnesses previously assumed to be wholly caused by phys iological factors. Hence, it has become evident that psychosomatic illnesses should not be given a specific classification since there is nothing unusual about them (Rice 2000). However, numerous findings show that experimentally stimulated stress can weaken immunity of animals. To be exact, stressors like restrictions, shock, congesting, and food limit weaken different features of immune responses in animal subjects (Steckler, Kalin, & Reul 2005). Apparently, according to Ayers and colleagues (2007), stress can also have an effect on the immune responses of animals in natural environments. Chronic diseases have a harmful effect on immune responses and stress makes the capabilities of individuals to cope with these diseases much worse. Segerstrom and Miller (2004), in a comprehensive evaluation of three decades of empirical work on stress and immunity, report that constant stress can weaken ‘humoral immune response’ which defend the body from bacteria and other extracel lular pathogens, and ‘cellular immune responses’ which defend the body from viruses and other intracellular pathogens (as cited in Ayers, Baum, McManus 2007, 168). Moreover, according to Ayers and colleagues (2007), they conclude that the length of a stressful episode is a major aspect establishing its effect on immune responses. As stated by Steckler and colleagues (2005), lifelong stressors, like looking after a gravely ailing loved one or long-term joblessness, are