Unit 14: International Organizations - Reading

Exercise 1: Fill in each numbered blank with one suitable word or phrase. The United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF, was (1) _____ by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency Food and (2) _____ to children in 'countries that had been devastated by World War II. In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations System and its name was shortened from the (3) _____ United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund but it has continued to be known by the popular acronym based on this old name. (4) _____ in New York City, UNICEF provides long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to' children and mother in developing countries. UNICEF is currently focused (5) _____ five primary priorities: Child Survival and Development, Basic Education and Gender Equality, including girl's education, Child protection from (6) _____, exploitation, and abuse, HIV/AIDS and children, and Policy advocacy and partnerships for children's rights. Related areas of UNICEF action include early childhood development, adolescence development and participation; life skills based education and child rights all over the world. A (7) _____ funded agency, UNICEF relies on contributions from governments and private (8) _____. Its programs emphasize developing community-level services to promote the health and well-being of children. Recently, UNICEF has begun partnerships with world-class athletes and teams to promote the organization's work and to (9) _____ funds. UNICEF greeting cards are sold worldwide to support efforts on behalf of children creating a better world where children are happy, healthy and live in dignity. UNICEF selects suitable paintings for reproduction from contemporary artists. Total income to UNICEF for 2006 was $2,781,000,000. UNICEF was (10) _____ the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 and Prince of Asturias Award of Concord in 2006. UNICEF is present in 190 countries and territories around the world. 

Exercise 2: Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer. The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April, 1948, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health Organization. The WHO's constitution, states that its objective is "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health." Its major task is to combat diseases, especially key infectious diseases, and to promote the general health of the people of the world. The WHO also sponsors programs to prevent and treat serious epidemics such as SARS, malaria, and AIDS. The WHO supports the development and distribution of safe and effective vaccines, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and drugs. After over 2 decades of fighting smallpox, the WHO declared in 1980 that the disease had been eradicated - the first disease in history to be eliminated by human effort. The WHO is nearing success in developing vaccines against malaria and aims to eradicate polio within the next few years. The organization has already endorsed the world's first official HIV/AIDS Tool kit for Zimbabwe making it an international standard. In addition to its work in eradicating disease, the WHO also carries out various health-related campaigns, for example, to boost the consumption of fruits and vegetables worldwide and to discourage tobacco use. Experts met at the WHO headquarters in Geneva in February, 2007, and reported that their work on pandemic influenza vaccine development had achieved encouraging progress. More than 40 clinic trials have been completed or are ongoing. Most have focused on healthy adults. Some companies, after completing safety analyses in adults, have initiated clinical trials in the elderly and in children. All vaccines so far appear to be safe arid well-tolerated in all age groups tested.