The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was established in 1946 in response to famine and disease affecting children in Europe. The mission of UNICEF at the time was to provide the affected children with food, healthcare, and clothing. In 1953, the UN General Assembly established UNICEF as a permanent organ of the UN. The committee’s early projects encompassed campaigns to fight and eliminate treatable mass diseases of the day such as tuberculosis, yaws, and leprosy. After the GA passed the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959, UNICEF had an official UN document around which to frame its goals. In 1961, UNICEF expanded its goals beyond improving children’s health and nutrition to also include education. Around this time, the committee also developed its modern theory on aid, which promotes a holistic approach to addressing the needs of children.