How to Help UNICEF Support Kids in India

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Stay informed on UNICEF’s work saving and protecting children around the world

India’s economy is among the fastest-growing in the world, and positive development has come alongside this growth. Extreme poverty in the country has dropped by 20 percent. Infant mortality is down by half. And two million more children are now in school.

India is home to almost one-sixth of the world’s population — and the largest population of adolescents in the world. Every fifth person is between 10 and 19 years old. Social improvements in India mean significant impact for human development worldwide.

If these adolescents are given an equal opportunity to thrive — when their safety, health care, education are prioritized — the country as a whole benefits socially, politically and economically.

Yet, millions of children in India need humanitarian assistance. Here is a look at the challenges children in India face and what UNICEF is doing about it.

Challenges for children in India

Children in India face many life-threatening challenges including poor access to nutrition and safe water. There is widespread learning poverty. 

The country is prone to natural disasters, from flooding to earthquakes to droughts. These disasters destabilize communities and put already vulnerable families at further risk.

Over 38 percent of children in India are stunted (shorter than average for their age due to poor nutrition) and a high number are severely malnourished. Less than half of all children in third grade can read a first-grade text. Many children die from preventable diseases and many miss out on routine vaccinations.

Girls in India are highly vulnerable to sexual violence and early marriage. In fact, India has more child brides than any other country in the world.

Over half of all girls in India suffer from anemia (iron deficiency) compared to 30 percent of boys. 

Shaily, 11, uses a handwashing station UNICEF helped install outside her middle school in Himachal Pradesh, India — an example of one of the many ways UNICEF supports good health and hygiene in communities. © UNICEF/UN0720910/Panjwani

How UNICEF supports children in India

UNICEF supports children in India in all program areas, including health, education and child protection. For example, UNICEF is:

Giving children in India a healthy start

  • reaching millions of people with safe water, sanitation and hygiene supplies and services
  • providing iron and folic acid supplements for millions of pregnant women
  • encouraging best practices like regular handwashing to change behaviors critical to public health

Supporting quality education for all

  • promoting reading among elementary school students with a campaign called “reading for joy”
  • setting up mobile learning vans and community learning camps with support from volunteers, trained teachers and community leaders
  • establishing a ‘School in a Van’ program to provide out-of-school children in vulnerable communities with opportunities to learn
  • providing technical support to state governments to facilitate safe post-pandemic school reopenings

Protecting children’s rights

  • offering life skills programs to adolescents, instruction in digital and financial literacy and other interventions that help prevent early marriage
  • providing children and caregivers with mental health and psychosocial support
  • working with governments to strengthen social safety nets for impoverished households

Stories from India

Here are a few stories about how UNICEF is working to support children in India:

Parenting tips via mobile phone

A UNICEF-supported project has established a creative method of delivering tips and advice about child rearing to new parents.

The service was launched during the pandemic when parents were not able to receive in-person help. It is relatively low-tech, which means parents can receive messages without an internet connection or smartphone. So far, 30,000 users have signed up, and according to a survey, parents reported the service helped them feel more confident about managing their child’s development. Learn more.

A father with his daughter in Uttar Pradesh, India, where UNICEF launched an initiative for parents to receive child-rearing support on their mobile phones. ©UNICEF/Dheeraj Bhushan

Closing India’s digital access gap

UNICEF is partnering with the software company SAP to provide teenagers in India the opportunity to learn technological skills that will help them professionally excel. Nearly 25,000 secondary school students in 150 schools are enolled in the pilot program, where students learn about different career paths and receive guidance about colleges and entrance exams. Nearly half (49 percent) of student participants are girls in grades 9 through 12.

For Babita Saini, a science teacher participating in the program, the real impact has been the dialogue it has fostered, introducing girls with empowering views about careers and gender. Learn more.

Babita Saini, a science teacher in a participating school in Jaipur, India, talked about how the program opened up a dialogue about traditional gender norms and careers. © UNICEF/UN0693294/Chanchal Sharma

Tackling vaccine distribution with traditional folk songs

Frontline health workers are playing a crucial role in fighting vaccine myths and misinformation. Singing traditional folk songs helped increase awareness of the importance of vaccines and vaccine acceptance in Garasia. Learn more.

Navli Garasiya, a healthcare worker and member of the Garasiya tribe, dances to an adapted traditional tribal song that speaks about the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine. © UNICEF 2022

How you can help

Over 280 million children in India are in need of humanitarian assistance. Donations go a long way in helping these children live the lives they deserve. Donate today.

Top photo: A middle-school student enjoys classroom time in Himachal Pradesh, India. © UNICEF/UN0720905/Panjwani

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