Clarios Foundation and UNICEF expand support for Children’s Environment Health Program
© UNICEF / Cambodia / 2024 / Seavhong Liv
- $10 million match contribution to accelerate UNICEF’s Healthy Environments for Healthy Children program
- Clarios Foundation Match continues efforts to protect 171 million Children from Environmental Hazard
- To date, the Clarios Foundation partnership has contributed over $36 million to UNICEF’s Healthy Environments for Healthy Children program
NEW YORK/GLENDALE, Wis. USA – November 20, 2024 – On World Children’s Day, the Clarios Foundation announced a new investment to improve children’s environmental health globally. The latest commitment was unlocked through a catalytic match fund where for each $1 raised, Clarios granted an additional $1 to UNICEF up to $10 million, doubling the contributions to UNICEF to expand the Healthy Environments for Healthy Children program. Through the financial support of the Clarios Foundation, the program addresses environmental challenges and improves children’s lives worldwide.
The Healthy Environments for Healthy Children program is working to protect the health and development of 171 million children under the age of five, from environmental degradation, toxic exposure, and extreme climate impacts.
The program works to prioritize children’s environmental health among national governments in low-and middle-income countries, strengthen primary health care, and promote climate and environmental action with young people. It also works to mobilize collective action through the Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative, which has almost 40 partners and was co-founded with the UN Environment Programme and the World Bank.
Continuing Success
To date, with this latest announcement of $10 million, the Clarios Foundation partnership has contributed over $36 million to enable UNICEF to reach 10 million caregivers, train and facilitate training of more than 10,000 health workers, engage nearly 3,000 youth, and support seven countries to integrate children’s environmental health into their health policies and primary healthcare.
The initial phase of the partnership supports 14 low-and-middle income countries—Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belize, Bhutan, Cambodia, Ecuador, Georgia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Vietnam—to help provide healthier childhoods and brighter futures. Clarios Foundation’s latest support has also enabled UNICEF to start working with an additional 10 countries on these critical issues for children’s health.
“In October, I witnessed firsthand the lifesaving programming that UNICEF is implementing on the ground in Cambodia,” said Alexis MacDowall, President of the Clarios Foundation. “UNICEF’s healthy environment programming prioritizes children’s health holistically – in their home, their surroundings and through the care they receive. At Clarios Foundation, we are committed to this critical work with UNICEF.”
Working Together to Provide Healthier Futures for Children
Nearly half the world's children - about 1 billion - live in countries that face high risk of climate and environmental hazards such as polluted air, soil, and water. Children are the most vulnerable to these risks, especially indigenous children, internally displaced children, girls and young women, children with disabilities and children living in poverty.
“Every child has the right to a healthy environment, yet almost all children on earth are exposed to at one least one major climate and environmental hazard,” said Michael J. Nyenhuis, President and CEO, UNICEF USA. “With the continued commitment from the Clarios Foundation, we can catalyze collective action to build a safer and healthier future, where every child can survive and thrive.”
The Clarios Foundation and UNICEF continue to advocate for decisive action from governments, businesses, and civil societies to support UNICEF's work with communities to identify sources of environmental hazards and eliminate their impact on children. By coming together, these stakeholders can create a safer, healthier future for children.
About Clarios
Clarios is the global leader in advanced, low-voltage battery technologies for mobility. Our batteries and smart solutions power nearly every type of vehicle and are found in 1 of 3 cars on the road today. With around 18,000 employees in over 100 countries, we bring deep expertise to our Aftermarket and OEM partners, and reliability, safety and comfort to everyday lives. We answer to the planet with a rigorous sustainability focus – advancing best-in-class sustainability practices and advocating for them across our industry. We work to ensure 100% of our products sold are recyclable, and we recycle 8,000 batteries an hour in our network. Clarios is a Brookfield portfolio company.
About UNICEF
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to pursue a more equitable world for every child. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, by providing health care and immunizations, safe water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more.
UNICEF USA advances the global mission of UNICEF by rallying the American public to support the world’s most vulnerable children. Together, we are working toward a world that upholds the rights of all children and helps every child thrive. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.
UNICEF does not endorse any company brand, product or service.
For media enquiries, please contact:
UNICEF:
Ann Reinking Whitener
Clarios:
Christian Riedel