Unicef needs [insert name of school]! DAY FOR CHANGE: Secondary Assembly Unicef needs [insert name of school]! Photo © Unicef/Fields

They may also have swollen feet, limbs, hands and faces. Malnutrition is about not having the right mixture of nutrients necessary for growth or good health. Children with severe acute malnutrition have a very low weight for their height and suffer from wasting (which is when their body breaks down the muscle and fat to make energy). They may also have swollen feet, limbs, hands and faces. Urgent, life-saving care is needed. Photo © Unicef/Maule-ffinch

Chronic malnutrition occurs over time and results in stunting; this is when a child’s body and brain are unable to grow and develop to their full potential. It is due to a long-term lack of nutrients during a child’s first 1,000 days, from when they are conceived to their second birthday. If this is not addressed early in the child’s life it cannot be reversed. Photo © Unicef/Maule-ffinch

With your help, Unicef can change this. Sadly, millions of children around the world don’t have the food they need to live happy, healthy lives. With your help, Unicef can change this. By taking part in Day for Change you can raise vital funds to help children grow up healthy and strong – and reach their full potential. A health worker treats eight-month-old Ali in a Unicef-supported heath centre. Ali is suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Photo © Unicef/Al-Issa

Latest figures estimate that 50 million children under five suffer from wasting 159 million children under five suffer from stunting. It is estimated that every 12 seconds a child dies from causes linked to malnutrition. That means that 50 children will have died in the ten minutes it takes to complete this assembly. Millions more children live with the lifelong effects of not having the food they need to live and grow, resulting in physical disabilities and learning difficulties.

What do these photos show? The first photo shows a child having their mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measured, which gives an indication of the muscle mass of the upper arm. MUAC is a rapid and effective predictor of risk of death in children aged 6–59 months and is increasingly being used to assess adult nutritional status too. The second photo shows a three-year-old child having their height measured at Al-Takya Al-Kasnazaniya Camp for displaced Iraqis in Baghdad. Ask the students why they think the child’s height is being monitored, and then explain that this can help check for any signs of stunting. Photos © Unicef/Maule-ffinch, © Unicef/Khuzaie

Unicef provides 80% of the world’s life-saving food for malnourished children. The first 1,000 days are the most critical in a child’s life. Unicef helps make sure babies and toddlers get the nutrition they need during this vital time. Photos © Unicef/Matas

Liberia is a country in West Africa Liberia is a country in West Africa. One in three children there is malnourished. With our help, Unicef can change this.

The film can be accessed at bit.ly/2kDbUPF Photo © Unicef/Maule-ffinch

By fundraising at [NAME OF SCHOOL] we can help to provide: Unicef is working to make sure that babies and children get the nutritious food they need to grow up healthy and strong. By fundraising at [NAME OF SCHOOL] we can help to provide: care and treatment from community health workers health checks to help early diagnosis life-saving food

Day for Change is a special day organised by Unicef where schools can raise money to provide life-saving food and care for malnourished children. non-uniform day sponsored challenge bake sale school event picnic By taking part in Day for Change we can learn about nutrition and help malnourished children grow up healthy and strong. The challenge is to get our school to collect as much loose change as possible by hosting any kind of fundraising activity, such as a ‘wear it blue’ day, a bake sale or a bring-a-pound day. The spare change we raise will change children’s lives. Ask the class for ideas of how they could raise money at home and at school. Suggestions can include: Asking friends and family to sponsor you for a personal challenge, such as a sponsored silence, giving up sweets and chocolate for a week or going without TV or the Internet for a week. Asking friends and family to sponsor a sporting feat, such as a danceathon, sponsored walk or football penalty shoot-out competition. Organise a school or class event, such as a bake sale, school disco or fun ‘wear it blue’ day. Photos: sponsored challenge © midwestsusan; picnic © personalcreations.com; all others © Unicef/Fields

£3.50 could provide deworming tablets and vitamin A supplements for a class of 30 children £16 could provide a year’s supply of vital vitamins for two toddlers £50 could train 250 parents and guardians about the importance of good nutrition, helping to ensure that more children can grow up healthy and strong  £300 could train two health workers to provide life-saving treatment for children with acute malnutrition.

= The Power of Nutrition, a charitable foundation, will double your school’s donation so we can reach even more children. This year, Day for Change is bigger and better than ever! To make our fundraising go even further, the Power of Nutrition Foundation will double our school’s donation, helping Unicef to reach even more children. Any Day for Change fundraising activity your school does will be matched pound for pound, which is even more reason to get excited and start planning your fundraising events now. (Additional information: This year’s Day for Change is officially on 24 May 2017 – however schools can fundraise at any date. The Power of Nutrition Foundation is a new charitable foundation working to improve the nutritional welfare and care of children and mothers in Africa and Asia.)