Press releases

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.

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.

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

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.

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. 

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.

25 August 2020 – Three years since hundreds of thousands fled violence and persecution in Myanmar, Rohingya refugee children and families in Cox’ Bazar District of Bangladesh are now facing new challenges.

18 August 2020 – Violence prevention and response services have been severely disrupted during the coronavirus pandemic, leaving children at increased risk of violence, exploitation and abuse, according to a global survey by UNICEF.

17 August 2020 – Unicef UK has today launched its first ever domestic emergency response programme to support children in the UK during the coronavirus pandemic.

13 August 2020 – As schools worldwide struggle with reopening, the latest data from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) reveals that 43 per cent of schools around the world lacked access to basic handwashing with soap and water in 2019 – a key condition for schools to be able to operate safely in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.

11 August 2020 – Polio immunization campaigns have resumed in Afghanistan and Pakistan – the last two polio-endemic countries in the world – months after Coronavirus left 50 million children without their polio vaccine.

11 August 2020 - Statement from Palais des Nations Press Briefing on the situation and response in Beirut.

5 August 2020 - Statement from UNICEF in response to Beirut explosions.

Across Central America and the Caribbean, more than 70 million children are directly or indirectly affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. Many of those children living in coastal areas of Central America and the Caribbean could face the additional threat of catastrophic storms as the 2020 hurricane season moves into a more active phase, UNICEF warned today. Displacement, infrastructure damage and service interruption caused by storms, particularly in coastal areas, could leave children and families more vulnerable to the disease and its impacts.

An additional 6.7 million children under the age of five could suffer from wasting – and therefore become dangerously undernourished – in 2020 as a result of the socio-economic impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, UNICEF warned today.

23 July 2020 – An estimated 3 million children are in need of assistance due to the combined impact of floods, the locust invasion and the coronavirus pandemic.

23 July 2020 – Weeks of torrential monsoon rains, widespread flooding and deadly landslides in Bangladesh, India and Nepal have affected millions of children and families, UNICEF said today.

23rd July 2020 - Statement from Unicef UK Executive Director, Sacha Deshmukh on Government cuts to UK aid spending in light of the recent pandemic.

22 July 2020 – Economic shocks, conflict, floods, desert locusts and now Coronavirus are creating a perfect storm that could reverse hard-earned food security gains in Yemen, warns the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and partners.

t least 40 million children worldwide have missed out on early childhood education in their critical pre-school year as Coronavirus shuttered childcare and early education facilities, according to a new research brief published today by UNICEF.