Press releases

UNICEF statement on allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

UNICEF is appalled that people who identify as UNICEF workers have reportedly committed abuse against vulnerable women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

View Press Release
View Press Release

Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore on 30th anniversary of World Summit for Children

29 September 2020 – “The 30th anniversary of the first ever World Summit for Children is an opportunity to celebrate the huge gains of the past three decades but also a stark reminder of how Coronavirus could turn back the clock.

View Press Release

Conflict, climate crisis and coronavirus pose great threats to the health of women and children

Fragile gains made to advance women and children’s health are threatened by conflict, the climate crisis and COVID-19, according to a new report from Every Woman Every Child.

View Press Release

Statement from Unicef UK Board

UNICEF UK STATEMENT ON 24th SEPTEMBER 2020 The Board of Trustees of Unicef UK regrets to announce that Douglas Alexander has decided to resign as Chair with immediate effect. The…

View Press Release

As classrooms for half the world’s schoolchildren remain closed, UNICEF and EU urge countries to prioritise schools in re-opening plans

23 September 2020 – “As schools remain closed for half the world’s students due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we are issuing an S.O.S. message urging countries to prioritise schools in their re-opening plans.

View Press Release

Coronavirus pandemic: Countries urged to take stronger action to stop spread of harmful information

23 September 2020 – The World Health Organization (WHO) together with the UN, specialised agencies and partners today called on countries to develop and implement action plans to promote the timely dissemination of science-based information and prevent the spread of false information while respecting freedom of expression.

View Press Release

Resignation of Unicef UK Executive Director Sacha Deshmukh

Statement by Unicef UK on 23rd September 2020

View Press Release

UNICEF calls for schools to open in Eastern & Southern Africa

Tuesday, 22 September 2020 - UNICEF has called on governments, parents and teachers across Eastern and Southern Africa to urgently and safely re-open schools, as the costs of continued school closures escalate across Eastern and Southern Africa.

View Press Release

WHO and UNICEF recommit to accelerating health and well-being at all ages

19 September 2020 – The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have signed a new collaborative framework which will accelerate joint public health efforts that put the most marginalized and vulnerable populations first.

View Press Release

UNICEF statement on children affected by the Moria camp fire on Lesvos Island, Greece

11th September 2020 - UNICEF statement on children affeected by fire in Moria camp, Lesvos Island, Greece

View Press Release

Polio programme accelerates efforts to respond to new polio outbreaks in Sudan and Yemen

11 September 2020 - “The recent vaccine-derived polio outbreaks confirmed in Yemen and Sudan are consequences of increasingly low levels of immunity among children. Each outbreak has paralysed children in areas that have been extremely difficult if not impossible to reach with routine or supplementary polio vaccination for extended periods of time."

View Press Release

Return to learning a priority for children to catch-up on education in person or remotely in the Middle East and North Africa

9 September 2020 - As schools start to reopen, UNICEF works with partners on the safe return to learning and launches “Ready to Come Back: A Teacher Preparedness Training Package”.

View Press Release

Unprecedented levels of malnutrition among children in Burkina Faso

Over 535,500 children under the age of five suffer from global acute malnutrition, 156,500 of whom are severely malnourished as findings of a new survey[1] show that the nutritional situation of children in Burkina Faso is worsening.

View Press Release

UNICEF to lead procurement and supply of Coronavirus vaccines

UNICEF is leading efforts to procure and supply COVID-19 vaccines in what could possibly be the world’s largest and fastest ever procurement and supply of vaccines, as part of the global vaccine plan of the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX Facility) led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

View Press Release

Unicef UK appoints Olivia Colman as its new President

3 September 2020 - Unicef UK is delighted to announce that Olivia Colman CBE has been appointed as its new President.

View Press Release

UNICEF warns of “looming children’s crisis” and urgent need for UK to take action to improve lives of children

2 September 2020 - “Worlds of Influence: Understanding what shapes child well-being in rich countries”, based on pre-pandemic data analysis, gives the UK an overall ranking of 27 among 41 EU and OECD countries on children’s health, academic and social skillsets.

View Press Release

COVID-19 Isolation and Treatment Centre opens for Bangladeshi communities and Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar

31 August 2020 –UNICEF and icddr,b are supporting a 200-bed isolation and treatment centre in Cox’s Bazar District to provide critical care for COVID-19 patients from both Bangladeshi and Rohingya refugee communities. 

View Press Release

Coronavirus: At least a third of the world’s schoolchildren unable to access remote learning during school closures, new UNICEF report says 

27 August 2020 – At least a third of the world’s schoolchildren – 463 million children globally – were unable to access remote learning when Coronavirus shuttered their schools, according to a new UNICEF report released today as countries across the world grapple with their ‘back-to-school’ plans.

View Press Release