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A PACKET OF HOPE
"This isn't just therapeutic food, it's hope in a packet. It's a second chance at life.”
-Liam Neeson, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
It doesn’t look like much at first glance.
A small packet.
A peanut-based therapeutic paste that children can eat straight from the sachet.
But for a child whose body has been weakened by severe malnutrition, that packet is life-saving. It’s energy, nutrients, and a second chance wrapped together – a packet of hope.
Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) is a specially formulated, peanut-based paste packed with calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals. It’s designed to treat severe wasting in children under 5 – one of the deadliest forms of malnutrition in the world.
Taken regularly over six to eight weeks, RUTF can help a child gain weight, regain their strength, and start to recover from life-threatening malnutrition.
Your donation helps UNICEF procure and deliver more of these life-saving packets to the children who need them most.
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The malnutrition crisis
Sudan is now facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
Conflict has forced families from their homes, destroyed services, and pushed communities to the brink. In some areas, famine has already been confirmed.
In crises like these, children are among the hardest hit.
For children with severe malnutrition, their bodies become extremely weak. They are more vulnerable to infections and take longer to recover from even common illnesses. Parents see their children losing weight and strength, knowing that without treatment, they may not survive.
“They don’t sleep at night because they’re hungry,” says Zahra, a mother from Sudan
Her eldest daughter, Farisha, is extremely weak; even simple movements are a struggle.
At a UNICEF-supported nutrition centre, Zahra and her children received critical nutrition support and supplies, including ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) for the children.
“At least now my children have a chance,” she says.
Your support helps UNICEF provide life-saving supplies and support to children like Farisha.
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Why UNICEF?
UNICEF procures an estimated 80 per cent of RUTF to treat children from dangerous malnutrition.
That means when you donate to UNICEF, you’re supporting a system that already reaches millions of children:
- In 2024, UNICEF and partners screened more than 250 million children under 5 for wasting.
- Over 9.3 million children received treatment for severe wasting and other forms of severe acute malnutrition.
And yet, current funding still only reaches a fraction of the children who need critical treatment for malnutrition.
Your donation helps close that gap.
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What your support helps do
Detect children early
Training community health workers to screen children for signs of wasting so treatment starts before it’s too late.
Deliver life-saving treatment
Supplying health centres and mobile clinics with RUTF and other essential nutrition supplies.
Reach children in crisis
Getting RUTF into conflict zones, displacement camps and hard-to-reach communities where food and healthcare are scarce.
Strengthen local supply
Working with partners and local manufacturers in several countries to secure and expand RUTF production so treatment is available when emergencies hit and prices rise.
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Be the reason a packet of hope is there on time
War, famine, poverty and natural disasters are putting children in danger every single day. With help from people like you, UNICEF teams are:
- Treating children with severe acute malnutrition
- Supporting caregivers with practical infant and young child feeding advice
- Providing emergency primary health care services
- Helping families access safe water
Your regular support means we can reach more children, faster, when their need is greatest.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who does UNICEF support and where does UNICEF work?
UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, works to protect the rights of every child, especially the most disadvantaged and those hardest to reach. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive and fulfil their potential.
We provide and advocate for education, health and nutrition services. Protect children from violence and abuse. Bring safe water and sanitation to those in need. And keep them safe from climate change and disease.
UNICEF also plays a major role in global vaccine supply. We are the largest single vaccine buyer in the world, procuring more than 2 billion doses annually for routine immunization and outbreak response.
And when emergencies hit, speed matters. UNICEF runs a global supply operation, including the world's largest humanitarian warehouse and logistics hub, helping move life-saving supplies to where children need them most.
Before, during and after emergencies, we're on the ground with life-saving help and hope.
How will my donation be used?
Your donation helps UNICEF reach children in the most vulnerable situations, wherever the need is greatest. That means your support can help children and families in places like Gaza, Yemen, Myanmar and Sudan, as well as other emergencies and long-running crises.
With your support, UNICEF can deliver life-saving essentials like safe water, medical supplies, vaccines, and life-saving therapeutic food, and help keep critical services running for children when local systems are under strain.
If you choose to support monthly, it helps UNICEF plan ahead and respond faster when needs surge during an emergency. Consistent support makes it easier to move supplies quickly and scale up what children need most. And you stay in control: you can adjust, pause, or cancel your monthly support at any time if your circumstances change
Why is UNICEF fundraising and asking individuals for donations?
Because children's needs don't wait, and UNICEF is entirely funded by voluntary contributions from governments, private sector partners, and people like you. Your support helps keep essential services going for children and families and allows UNICEF to respond quickly during an emergency.
And if you choose to give monthly, it helps UNICEF plan ahead and scale faster when needs surge, because consistent support makes it easier to move supplies and keep help reaching children without delay.
Will I get a tax receipt if I donate via this platform?
Donations made through this page are not eligible for a tax receipt.
As a United Nations entity, UNICEF operates under international privileges and immunities and is not registered for tax purposes in any country. This means we're unable to issue tax receipts for donations made here.
That said, if a tax receipt is important to you, we’d encourage you to check with your local UNICEF office team for more information on the options available in your country.
Why are regular donations important?
Not every child in crisis makes the news. But every one of them still needs us. Children rebuilding their lives after years of conflict. Families piecing things back together after a flood, a devastating earthquake, or an emergency the world has long stopped talking about.
Those children need just as much support as the ones making headlines today. But when the cameras move on, so does a lot of the funding.
A regular donation makes a huge difference for these children.
It helps make sure a child in a forgotten emergency still has access to safe water next month. It helps a health clinic in a community recovering from years of hardship keep its doors open. It helps a girl who finally made it back to school find a teacher, a book, and a safe place to learn, month after month, not only when the world is watching.
Most importantly, a regular gift, no matter the amount, is your commitment to children who are counting on us not to forget them.
What payment methods are accepted?
You can donate using a credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay - whatever is easiest for you. Please ensure your credit card has international transactions enabled.
Who do I contact if I have questions about my donation?
We're here to help. If you have any questions about your donation — whether it's updating your details, changing your donation amount, or anything else — just get in touch with our team and we'll sort it out for you.
How can I verify I'm donating through an official UNICEF channel?
A good rule: donate only through official UNICEF websites. For global donations, that's unicef.org or help.unicef.org.
Before you enter any details, do a quick safety check:
- Look for the correct UNICEF web address (no extra words, misspellings, or strange domains).
- Check for the padlock icon in your browser address bar. UNICEF donation pages use secure encryption to protect your information.
- If anything feels off, pause and contact UNICEF directly to confirm.
And one important note: UNICEF warns about scams that misuse the UNICEF name online, especially messages promising money, prizes, or asking for sensitive personal info. If you see anything like that, treat it as a scam.
If you suspect someone has contacted you fraudulently representing UNICEF, please be aware: UNICEF never solicits funds via Western Union, never expects employees to pay their own expenses, never participates in lottery awards, and never solicits donations with the promise of a commission.
When in doubt, don't proceed. Pause and verify through official UNICEF channels first.
How quickly can UNICEF respond during an emergency?
Fast, and that speed is something UNICEF has spent decades building.
UNICEF keeps pre-positioned supplies and contingency stock in over 250 warehouses across more than 70 countries, so when a crisis hits, life-saving help is often already nearby.
At the same time, UNICEF's Global Supply and Logistics Hub in Copenhagen, described by UNICEF as the world's largest humanitarian warehouse, can deliver pre-positioned life-saving supplies within 72 hours at the onset of an emergency, anywhere in the world.
The exact speed on the ground can vary depending on access and conditions, like security restrictions, damaged roads, or border procedures.
That readiness is powered by consistent support. When you give regularly, you're not only helping today, you're helping UNICEF stay ready to move the moment the next emergency begins.
Who are the beneficiaries of UNICEF?
Every child, everywhere. Especially the ones who are hardest to reach — children caught in conflict, displaced by disaster, living in extreme poverty, or growing up in places where the basics aren't guaranteed.
UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories, going wherever the need is greatest. That includes children and families in places like Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar, and many others, where growing up safely is far from certain.
And because children don't live in isolation, supporting the families and communities around them — parents and caregivers, local health workers, and teachers — is part of how we protect every child.