Press releases
Syria: Up to 1 million people at risk due to severe interruptions to Alouk Water Station
15 July 2021 - Joint statement by United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Imran Riza, Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, Muhannad Hadi, and UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Ted Chaiban.
Escalation of violence in northwest Syria as at least three children killed, and two others injured
“UNICEF confirms that only this morning, three children were killed in two separate attacks in the area. The attacks have taken place in the de-escalation zone despite the ceasefire from March last year.
Statement on the arrival of the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines in Haiti
Haiti was the only country in the Americas without a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. On the 14th July 500,000 doses of vaccine donated by the U.S government through COVAX landed in Port-Au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti
COVID-19 pandemic leads to major backsliding on childhood vaccinations, new WHO, UNICEF data shows
23 million children missed out on basic vaccines through routine immunization services in 2020 – 3.7 million more than in 2019 - according to official data published today by WHO and UNICEF.
UK Aid Commons Vote, UNICEF UK response
13th July 2021 - Statement from (UNICEF UK) Director of Advocacy, Joanna Rea.
UNICEF signs supply agreement for Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine
13 July 2021 - UNICEF and Sinopharm sign a long-term agreement for the supply of the BBIBP-CorV inactivated virus vaccine against COVID-19 on behalf of the COVAX Facility.
1 in 3 countries are not taking action to help students catch up on their learning post-COVID-19 school closures
13 July 2021 - A new UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank and OECD report documents education responses to COVID-19 in 142 countries
UN report: Pandemic year marked by spike in world hunger
There was a dramatic worsening of world hunger in 2020, the United Nations said today – much of it likely related to the fallout of COVID-19. While the pandemic’s impact has yet to be fully mapped, a multi-agency report estimates that around a tenth of the global population – up to 811 million people – were undernourished last year. The number suggests it will take a tremendous effort for the world to honour its pledge to end hunger by 2030.
Statement by UNICEF and UNESCO - Reopening schools cannot wait
12 July 2021 - Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay calling for the re-opening of schools ahead of the Global Education meetings on 13th July 2021
1.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine arrive in Afghanistan through COVAX global dose-sharing mechanism
More than 1.4 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine arrived today in Afghanistan. Donated by the United States to COVAX, the 1,484,900 doses were delivered through the COVAX Facility’s dose-sharing scheme to the Government of Afghanistan.
UNICEF signs first COVID-19 vaccine agreement to supply African Union
UNICEF has signed an agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV to supply up to 220 million doses of the J&J single-dose vaccine for all 55 Member States of the African Union (AU) by the end of 2022. Some 35 million doses are to be delivered by the end of this year.
Concerns deepen over attacks against children and child abductions in parts of West and Central Africa
7 July 2021 - Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
10 years after South Sudan’s independence, more children in need of urgent humanitarian assistance than ever before
4.5 million children – two out of three – in South Sudan are in desperate need of humanitarian support, UNICEF warned today, ahead of the 10th anniversary of the country’s independence.
The number of children facing education disruption in Yemen could rise to 6 million, UNICEF warns
Just over 2 million school-age girls and boys are now out of school as poverty, conflict and lack of opportunities disrupt their education. This is double the number of out-of-school children in 2015 when the conflict started.
Hurricane Elsa: UNICEF ready to provide lifesaving assistance in the Caribbean
While Hurricane Elsa is currently battering the Caribbean, UNICEF has prepositioned humanitarian supplies for vulnerable families in all countries likely to be affected.
First US donations of COVID-19 vaccines arrive in South Asia via COVAX
2 July 2021 - Statement on the first COVID-19 vaccines donated by the US Government to arrive in devastated South Asia.
More than 2.1 million children caught up in humanitarian crisis in Niger
Conflict, displacement, food insecurity, malnutrition, recurrent disease epidemics and outbreaks, cyclical floods and droughts in Niger have put more than 3.8 million people, including 2.1 million children, in need of humanitarian assistance, a 30 percent increase compared to 2020.
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore on obstruction of UNICEF humanitarian action in Mekele, Ethiopia
28 June 2021 — Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore on obstruction of UNICEF humanitarian action in Mekele, Ethiopia.
Geneva Palais briefing note on the worsening situation in Sub Saharan Africa as a result of secondary impacts of COVID-19
25 June 2021 - A summary of what was said by UNICEF spokesperson James Elder – to whom quoted text may be attributed – on the worsening situation for children in Sub Saharan Africa as a result of secondary impacts of COVID-19, at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.