Press releases

NEW YORK/GENEVA, 6 February 2025 – “Female genital mutilation is a violation of human rights that inflicts deep and lifelong physical, emotional, and psychological scars on girls and women. This harmful practice affects more than 230 million girls and women today. An estimated 27 million more girls could endure this violation of their rights and dignity by 2030 if we do not take action now.

BANGKOK, 6 February 2025 – As Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, grapples with unhealthy levels of air pollution, leading to school closures and widespread health concerns, UNICEF’s latest analysis sheds light on the devastating impact of toxic air on children across East Asia and the Pacific.

PORT SUDAN/AMMAN/NEW YORK, 5 February 2025 – “Shelling in Kadugli, South Kordofan State, killed 21 children and maimed 29 on Monday, 3 February. According to reports, at least 11 children were killed in shelling on a livestock market in El Fasher, Darfur State, and reportedly another eight children were killed and six injured in shelling on Sabreen market in Khartoum State on Saturday, 2 February

DAKAR/NEW YORK, 31 January 2025 – Global content creator Khaby Lame has been announced as UNICEF’s newest Goodwill Ambassador. The appointment – made at an event in Lame’s birth country Senegal – follows a four-day visit to meet children and young people who are driving positive change in their communities.  

KINSHASA, 29 January 2024 – UNICEF is gravely concerned about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in eastern DR Congo resulting from the recent intensification of conflict and surging numbers of displaced people. 

NEW YORK/AMMAN/PORT SUDAN, 28 January 2025 – At least one girl and three boys were reportedly killed and three boys injured in an attack on the Saudi Hospital in El Fasher, in Sudan’s North Darfur, that took place on Friday. In an illustration of the relentless dangers that children face, the children were among the patients receiving care in the hospital’s emergency ward, being treated for injuries resulting from previous bombings in the area.

NEW YORK, 27 January 2025 – UNICEF has accelerated the distribution of supplies and services to children in the Gaza Strip, with more than 350 trucks entering in the first week of the long-awaited ceasefire.

NEW YORK, 27 January 2025 – UNICEF has accelerated the distribution of supplies and services to children in the Gaza Strip, with more than 350 trucks entering in the first week of the long-awaited ceasefire.

London 24th January – To mark the International Day of Education, today UNICEF UK is announcing that since 2017 the charity has received £20 million thanks to funds raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, supporting education in emergencies programmes around the world.

NEW YORK, 24 January 2025 – At least 242 million students in 85 countries had their schooling disrupted by extreme climate events in 2024, including heatwaves, tropical cyclones, storms, floods, and droughts, exacerbating an existing learning crisis, according to a new UNICEF analysis released today.

DAMASCUS, 23 January 2025 – “During my five-day visit to Syria, I engaged with the Caretaker Authorities, communities, UN country team, partners, parents, and children in Damascus, Aleppo, and Idleb.

PORT-AU-PRINCE/NEW YORK, 17 January 2025 – The number of internally displaced children in Haiti has increased by nearly 50 per cent since September – now equaling approximately one in eight children in the entire country – as a result of ongoing violence caused by armed groups. 

BEIJING, 16 January 2025 – UNICEF has sent urgently needed emergency relief supplies for children and families affected by the devastating earthquake that struck Dingri County in Xizang Autonomous Region, also known as Tibet, on 7 January 2025. This follows a request from the local governments of Dingri County and neighbouring Sajia County, through the Rikaze Prefecture.

15 January 2024 - Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the announcement of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip

PORT SUDAN, 15 January 2025 – “As I wrap up my visit to Sudan, where the conflict rages on unabated, at least 120 people were reportedly killed following shelling in Omdurman on 13 and 14 January. Early reports indicate that there were children among the casualties. Just days before, between 7 and 8 January, 23 children were reportedly killed and nine injured by shelling in Khartoum State. These are only a few examples of unconscionable violence against children. Since the conflict broke out in April 2023, thousands of children have been killed or injured, and sexual violence and child recruitment have been widely reported, with devastating consequences.

DAMASCUS, 14 January 2025 – “As hopes for a peace dividend for Syrian children grow, girls and boys in the country continue to suffer the brutal impact of unexploded ordnance (UXO) at an alarming rate.

EAST JERUSALEM/AMMAN/NEW YORK, 8 January 2025 – At least 74 children have reportedly been killed in relentless violence in the Gaza Strip in just the first seven days of 2025. Children have reportedly been killed in several mass casualty events, including nighttime attacks in Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Al Mawasi, a unilaterally designated 'safe zone' in the south. The most recent attack, yesterday, saw five children reportedly killed in Al Mawasi.

NEW YORK, 28 December 2024 – The impact of armed conflicts on children around the world reached devastating and likely record levels in 2024, according to a review by UNICEF of the latest available data and prevailing global trends.

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.

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.