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On 25 September, [NAMES CHANGED] (foreground, left-right) siblings Awa, 3, and Amadou, 4, pretend to talk on toy mobile telephones, at home in a village on the outskirts of the city of Kenema in Eastern Province. Many of the people in the village are affected by Ebola. Olematu and Ibrahim are being cared for by their 15-year-old sister, Betty, with help from a neighbour, following the death of their mother from Ebola one month ago. Betty is a survivor of the virus. An estimated 1,131 children in Sierra Leone are affected by Ebola virus disease. UNICEF/UNI172461/Bindra

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Press releases

Contact our Media Team

Unicef’s work for children is non-stop – that’s why the Media Team is on hand around the clock for whenever the media need information on issues affecting children in the UK and across the world.

If you are a journalist and have a media enquiry, please contact the media team for more information:

  • Phone: + 44 (0)207 375 6030

Statement by UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder on continued deaths of children in Gaza

AMMAN, 26 December 2024 – “In the final days of the year, there seems to be no end in sight to the deadly threats to children in Gaza. Over the past three days, at least eleven children have reportedly been killed in attacks. Now, we are also witnessing children dying from the cold and a lack of adequate shelter.

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Food and nutrition crisis deepens across Sudan as famine identified in additional areas

ROME/NEW YORK, 24 December 2024 – Four months after famine was first confirmed in Zamzam camp in Sudan’s North Darfur state, more areas in North Darfur and the Western Nuba mountains have been identified as experiencing famine conditions, as access to food and nutrition for millions of people across the country continues to deteriorate, the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF warned today.

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"Cold, sick and traumatized" - the ongoing nightmare for children in Gaza

AMMAN/GENEVA, 20 December 2024 – “Children in Gaza are cold, sick and traumatized. Hunger and malnutrition, and the dire living conditions more broadly, continue to put the lives of children at risk. Right now, over 96% of women and children in Gaza cannot meet their basic nutritional needs. Most are surviving on rationed flour, lentils, pasta, and canned food—a diet that slowly compromises their health.

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An estimated 40,000 children impacted in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Vanuatu

PORT VILA, Vanuatu, 18 December 2024 – An estimated 40,000 children are in need of humanitarian assistance after a devastating 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Vanuatu on December 17, followed by several major aftershocks.

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Peace must prevail for Syria’s children

DAMASCUS, 17 December 2024 - “Today, I concluded my visit to Damascus, Homs, Hama, Aleppo and Idlib where I witnessed the dire situation for Syria’s children. After 14 years of war, millions of children have known nothing but conflict, forcing them to grow up far too quickly. Yet there is hope and an opportunity for a better future.

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At least 90,000 children impacted as Cyclone Chido hits hard in Mozambique

MAPUTO/NEW YORK, 17 December 2024 – Heavy winds and rainfall from Cyclone Chido have damaged or destroyed over 35,000 homes and affected more than 90,000 children across Cabo Delgado province, in northern Mozambique, after the storm made landfall on Sunday.

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Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on children and the continued bloodshed in the Gaza Strip

NEW YORK, 13 December 2024 – “Yesterday, in yet another devastating attack on Nuseirat camp, in central Gaza, 33 people were reportedly killed – including at least eight children – and 50 wounded by airstrikes. The latest violence adds to a staggering figure of more than 160 children reportedly killed in Gaza in a little over a month. That is an average of four children every day since the beginning of November.  

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Child found floating alone in the sea, wearing a life jacket made of tyre tubes, after 44 other passengers on her boat believed to have drowned

GENEVA/LAMPEDUSA, Italy, 12 December 2024 – "An 11-year-old girl was rescued yesterday from a shipwreck off the coast of Italy’s Lampedusa. All 44 other people on board, including women and children, are believed to have drowned.

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Birth registration steadily increases worldwide, but 150 million children still ‘invisible’ - UNICEF

NEW YORK, 11 December 2024 — Over 500 million – or close to 8 in 10 - children under five have had their births registered in the last five years, reflecting notable strides in securing legal identity worldwide, according to a new UNICEF report released today.

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Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the impact of the situation in Syria on children

NEW YORK, 8 December 2024 – “With the situation in Syria rapidly evolving, UNICEF reiterates the UN Secretary-General’s appeal for calm, to refrain from violence, and to protect the rights of all Syrians – especially children, at least 80 of whom have been killed in the past two weeks.

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Statement by UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Director Edouard Beigbeder, on the killing of children in Nuseirat and Al Mawasi, Gaza

NEW YORK, 6 December 2024 – “In a single day of bloodshed, children in different parts of the Gaza strip were reportedly killed while sheltering inside their tents or desperately queueing for a piece of bread amid a rapidly worsening food crisis.

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UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell's remarks at the United Nations Security Council meeting on the maintenance of peace and security in Ukraine

NEW YORK, December 4, 2024 - "Excellencies. Thank you Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield for bringing us together to speak about the consequences of the war in Ukraine on the lives of children, their families, and communities.

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Response to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s speech

“Today’s announcement from the Prime Minister to give every child the best start in life is hugely important for children across the country. UNICEF UK has long been calling for better investment in health and education services for children under 5 because of the vital difference early support can have at a time when a child’s rapid growth and development will influence both their childhood and their adult lives and prospects.  

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UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Ishmael Beah meets children and young people trapped in world’s biggest child displacement crisis

PORT SUDAN/NEW YORK, 5 December 2024 - UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Ishmael Beah travelled to Sudan this week to meet with children and families affected by the conflict that has devastated the country for the past 19 months.

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Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on reported restrictions on Afghan women’s education in medical faculties

NEW YORK, 4 December 2024 – “I am deeply alarmed by reports that the de facto authorities in Afghanistan plan to ban women from studying in medical faculties, including fields critical to the health of women and children such as nursing, midwifery, and gynaecology.

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Statement by UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Director Edouard Beigbeder on the recent escalation of violence in Northwest Syria

Amman, 2 December 2024- “I am deeply alarmed by the recent escalation of hostilities in northwest Syria, which has reportedly resulted in the tragic killing of at least seven children and injured another 32.

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Six children die in shipwreck in the Aegean Sea: UNICEF Statement

26 November 2024 – Six children are among eight people who lost their lives yesterday in the Aegean Sea. The children were with some 40 people travelling on a small dinghy boat across the Eastern Mediterranean migration route between Türkiye and Greece.

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Number of children in Haiti recruited by armed groups soars by 70 per cent in one year – UNICEF

PORT AU PRINCE/NEW YORK, 25 November 2024 – The number of children recruited by armed groups in Haiti increased by 70 per cent in the last year, according to the latest UNICEF estimates.

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Stars Join UNICEF UK to Celebrate World Children's Day Raising £670,000 at First Ever Once Upon Our Time Gala

UNICEF UK President, Olivia Colman, UNICEF UK Ambassadors, James Nesbitt, Gemma Chan, and Levison Wood, and UNICEF UK High-Profile Supporters Alex Scott and Cel Spellman joined a host of attendees for UNICEF UK’s inaugural Once Upon Our Time Gala event on Wednesday 20th November to mark World Children’s Day

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