Children First: The Story of UNICEF, Past and Present

by Maggie Black

Celebrating UNICEF's fiftieth anniversary in 1996, Children First examines changes in public attitudes and government policies which have put children at the top of the international agenda in the 1990s. Starting from the International Year of the Child in 1979, development historian Maggie
Black studies the two movements which have done most to raise the visibility of children in the public the child survival campaign, which culminated in the 1990 World Summit for Children; and the movement for children's rights, which resulted in the 1989 International Convention on
the Rights of the Child, now ratified by 177 countries. Children First explores what brought these two movements such unprecedented success, and Is this new found concern for the world's children likely to last?
This fascinating account is must reading for anyone interested in international relations, the United Nations, UNICEF, or the welfare of children.

378 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 1996

About the author

Maggie Black is the author of several publications including From Handpumps to Health: The Evolution of Water and Sanitation Programmes in Bangladesh, India and Nigeria and In the Twilight Zone: Child Workers in the Hotel, Tourism and Catering Industry. She has worked as a consultant for UNICEF, Anti-Slavery International, and WaterAid, among others, and has written for The Guardian, The Economist, and BBC World Service.