Press releases

Ebola outbreak: Joint statement from UNICEF, WHO, UN, and WFP

Joint statement from UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock, and World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley.

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Geneva Palais briefing note on the impact of the Ebola outbreak on children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

A summary of what was said by Jerome Pfaffmann, UNICEF Senior Health Specialist – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva.

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“No child should be buried in their school uniform”

29 July 2019 - Statement by Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Sudan

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UNICEF breaks ground on Africa’s first-of-its-kind recycled plastic brick factory in Côte d'Ivoire

29 July 2019 – UNICEF, in partnership with Colombian social enterprise Conceptos Plasticos, today announced it had broken ground on a first-of-its-kind factory that will convert plastic waste collected in Côte d'Ivoire into modular plastic bricks. The easy-to-assemble, durable, low-cost bricks will be used to build much needed classrooms in the West African country.

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UNICEF ramps up Ebola prevention efforts as South Sudan assessed as ‘high-risk’ country

29 July 2019 — Crucial information on how to protect oneself from contracting Ebola saves lives. Since January 2019, UNICEF and its partners have engaged more than 3 million people in South Sudan with Ebola prevention messages, the UN children’s agency said today.

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32 children released from opposition groups in South Sudan

24 July 2019 — Yesterday, 32 children were released from armed opposition groups in Leer county, in northern South Sudan.

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Nearly 9 million of the Most Vulnerable in Yemen Benefit from Unconditional Cash Assistance

24 July 2019 – Nearly 9 million people across Yemen have been reached with emergency cash assistance in the fifth payment cycle by UNICEF to help meet their urgent needs as the conflict in the country enters its fifth year.

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Partnerships and innovation help UNICEF deliver results for children in 150 countries

24 July 2019 -  In 2018, UNICEF procured US$3.486 billion worth of goods and services to help children in 150 countries live better lives around the world.

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‘Transformative shift’ in support for families of young children urgently needed worldwide - UNICEF

19 July 2019 – Businesses and governments urgently need to invest in families to reduce poverty and lay the foundation for children’s healthy development and adults’ success at work, UNICEF said today in a new policy brief outlining the latest evidence and new recommendations on family-friendly policies.

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Monsoon rains bring severe flooding and landslides across South Asia, affecting more than five million children

18 July 2019 – Heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides across three countries in South Asia – Nepal, India, and Bangladesh – have killed at least 93 children, and put the lives of millions more at risk.

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Unwanted, exploited and abused: tens of thousands of children in Al-Hol camp and several parts of Syria in limbo amid dire humanitarian needs

17 July 2019 - At least 70,000 people live in Al-Hol Camp, northeast of Syria. UNICEF estimates that more than 90 per cent of them are children and women. These children are highly vulnerable, they are survivors of heavy fighting and have witnessed unimaginable atrocities.

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Unicef UK welcomes Environment Secretary’s pledge to tackle toxic air

16 July 2019- In a speech at Kew Gardens today, the Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced new measures to tackle toxic air. Unicef UK responds: 

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UNICEF - the impact of the Ebola outbreak on children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Update from Ebola- affected areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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World hunger is still not going down after three years and obesity is still growing – UN report

15 July 2019 – An estimated 820 million people did not have enough to eat in 2018, up from 811 million in the previous year, which is the third year of increase in a row.

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20 million children miss out on lifesaving measles, diphtheria and tetanus vaccines in 2018

15 July 2019 – 20 million children worldwide – more than 1 in 10 - missed out on lifesaving vaccines such as measles, diphtheria and tetanus in 2018,according to new data from WHO and UNICEF.  

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Mass campaign to vaccinate over 3 million children against polio kicks off in Venezuela

14 July 2019 - A mass polio vaccination campaign for more than 3.1 million children under the age of five in Venezuela started today, led by the Ministry of Health, with support from UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

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Vaccination to contain severe measles outbreak underway in DR Congo amidst Ebola and mass displacement

11 July 2019 – Health workers are urgently rolling out a complex measles vaccination campaign targeting 67,000 children in Ituri, northeast DR Congo, a region ravaged by armed conflict that is now also the hub of the second deadliest Ebola outbreak on record.

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Rohingya refugee children in Cox’s Bazar at risk from flooding and landslides as monsoon rains continue

9 July 2019 – Thousands of children and families living in the Rohingya refugee camps and host communities in Cox’s Bazar in south-eastern Bangladesh are at risk from flooding and landslides caused by heavy rainfall in the last few days.

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At least seven children killed in yet another attack on civilians in northwest Syria

7th July 2019 - Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore: At least seven children killed in yet another attack on civilians in northwest Syria

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