Partners for IMCI

THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
Governed by volunteers and supported by community donations, the American Red Cross is a nationwide network of local community supporters -- volunteers, blood donors, and financial donors -- organized into nearly 1,000 chapters, Blood Services regions and field units dedicated to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Led by 1.2 million volunteers and 36,000 employees, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to families affected by more than 67,000 disasters, trains nearly 12 million people in lifesaving skills and exchanges more than a million emergency messages for U.S. military service personnel and their families. The Red Cross is the largest supplier of blood and blood products to more than 3,000 hospitals across the nation and also assists victims of international disasters and conflicts throughout the world.

The American Red Cross works with a global network of Red Cross, Red Crescent and equivalent societies to restore hope and dignity to the world's vulnerable people. Through this International Movement, the American Red Cross assists survivors of international disasters and conflicts and improves the basic living conditions of those in chronically deprived areas of the world.

THE PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION (PAHO)

Celebrating its 100 year anniversary, The Pan American Health Organization is the regional office for the Americas for the World Health Organization (WHO) under the United Nations system. PAHO is charged with improving public health and living standards throughout the Americas region, and serves as the specialized organization for health of the Inter-American System. PAHO's mission is to strengthen national and local health systems and improve the health of the peoples of the Americas, in collaboration with Ministries of Health, other government and international agencies, nongovernmental organizations, universities, social security agencies, community groups and many others.

World Health Organization (WHO)

The World Health Organization, the United Nations specialized agency for health, was established on April 7, 1948. WHO's objective, as set out in its constitution, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Health is defined in WHO's constitution as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

WHO is governed by 191 member states through the World Health Assembly. The Health Assembly is composed of representatives from WHO's member states. The main tasks of the World Health Assembly are to approve the WHO program and the budget for the following biennium and to decide major policy questions.

United Nations Foundation

The United Nations Foundation promotes a more peaceful, prosperous, and just world through the support of the United Nations and its charter. Through grantmaking and by building new and innovative public-private partnerships, the United Nations Foundation acts to meet the most pressing health, humanitarian, socioeconomic and environmental challenges of the 21st century.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946 to help children after World War II in Europe, UNICEF was first known as the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations system, to help children living in poverty in developing countries. Although its name was shortened to the United Nations Children's Fund, it retained the acronym UNICEF, by which it is known today.

UNICEF helps children get the care and stimulation they need in the early years of life and encourages families to educate girls as well as boys. It strives to reduce childhood death and illness and to protect children in the midst of war and natural disaster. UNICEF supports young people, wherever they are, in making informed decisions about their own lives, and strives to build a world in which all children live in dignity and security.

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
Other partner organizations involved in the implementation and promotion of IMCI include the Ministries of Health of the participating countries, as well as other humanitarian groups and non-governmental organizations.