Press releases
115 million boys and men around the world married as children - UNICEF
7 June 2019 – An estimated 115 million boys and men around the world were married as children, UNICEF said today in its first ever in-depth analysis of child grooms. Of these, 1 in 5 children, or 23 million, were married before the age of 15.
World not delivering quality maternal health care to poorest mothers
3 June 2019 – More than 5 million families across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean spend over 40 per cent of their non-food household expenses on maternal health services every year, UNICEF said today in a new analysis on maternal health.
Unicef UK urges the international community to eliminate gender inequality to ensure better quality healthcare for women and girls
As The Lancet launches its new Series on Gender Equality, Norms and Health, which finds that governments and health institutions have persistently failed to make progress towards gender equality, UNICEF is calling on the international community to work together to eliminate gender inequality.
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom visits children displaced by Cyclone Idai in Mozambique
30 May 2019 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom visited Mozambique this week, where 1.1 million children remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of tropical cyclones Idai and Kenneth.
Tens of thousands of children in grave danger as violence escalates in northwest Syria
30 May 2019 – “Tens of thousands of children in northwest Syria are at imminent risk of injury, death and displacement because of a significant escalation in fighting. Violence has intensified over the past few days, especially in villages in northern Hama and southern Idlib.
Two million children under five suffering from acute malnutrition in Afghanistan
28 May 2019- Among the 2 million children under the age of five years who are suffering from acute malnutrition, 600,000 children are currently suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Afghanistan sees three-fold increase in attacks on schools in one year – UNICEF
28 May 2019 – Attacks on schools in Afghanistan tripled between 2017 and 2018, surging from 68 to 192, UNICEF said today. It was the first time school attacks had increased since 2015.
Attack in Taiz leaves 7 children dead, brings total child casualties in Yemen to 27 in just over 10 days
26 May 2019- “Seven children between the ages of 4 and 14 were killed on Friday in an attack on the Mawiyah district, in the southern Yemeni city of Taiz.
UNICEF condemns attacks in the Central African Republic
24 May 2019 – “UNICEF condemns the brutal killings of civilians during recent attacks by armed groups on villages in the northwest of the Central African Republic. The attacks left at least 54 people dead.
UNICEF calls for stronger commitments from international governments to improve life-saving services for women and girls affected by violence
23 May 2019 - As the Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Humanitarian Crises conference in Oslo gets underway, UNICEF is calling for stronger political commitments from international governments to protect and improve life-saving services for those women and girls affected by violence worldwide.
Unicef UK responds to UN Special Rapporteur’s UK poverty report
22 May 2019- We are concerned that the UN Special Rapporteur’s findings show that the fifth wealthiest country is failing to fully comply with its obligations under the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) – to provide children and families with enough to eat and a safe place to live.
"Protect the rights of children of foreign fighters stranded in Syria and Iraq" - Statement by Henrietta Fore
21 May 2019 – “The thousands of children of foreign fighters languishing in camps, detention centers or orphanages in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere are among the world’s most vulnerable children."
DAVID HAREWOOD ADDRESSES MPS AT SOCCER AID FOR UNICEF PARLIAMENTARY EVENT
Tuesday, 21 May - Actor David Harewood met members of parliament at a Soccer Aid for Unicef event at the Houses of Parliament to support the Great Big Kickabout.
UNICEF and partners vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children affected by Cyclone Idai; stepping up life-saving cholera prevention work in northern areas affected by Cyclone Kenneth
16 May 2019 - Hundreds of thousands of children affected by deadly Cyclone Idai in Mozambique have been vaccinated and received vitamin A supplements in the past week, with UNICEF and partners, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) supporting the Government-led Health Week in the 21 most affected districts of Sofala, Manica, Inhambane, and Zambézia provinces.
UNICEF UK’S NEWEST AMBASSADOR RITA ORA TO PERFORM EXCLUSIVE HALF TIME GIG AT SOCCER AID FOR UNICEF ON 16TH JUNE
London, Saturday 11 May – Rita Ora will perform an exclusive live half time set at Soccer Aid for Unicef 2019 at Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge Stadium in London on Sunday 16th June, broadcast exclusively on ITV and STV.
Nearly 900 children released from armed group in north-east Nigeria
10 May 2019 – A total of 894 children, including 106 girls, were released from the ranks of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Maiduguri, north-east Nigeria today, as part of its commitment to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children.
CAPITAL’S ROMAN KEMP SIGNS UP FOR SOCCER AID FOR UNICEF 2019
Wednesday 8th May – Capital Breakfast show host Roman Kemp is grabbing his footy boots as the latest signing for Soccer Aid for Unicef 2019.
12 children killed in past two weeks in northwest Syria
7 May 2019 – “At least 12 children have been killed in northwestern Syria since April 20 as violence in the demilitarised zone continues to escalate.
Media Advisory: Cyclone Fani
4th May 2019 - A severe cyclonic storm, Fani, has begun to strike Bangladesh early hours of 4 May, bringing with it high winds and heavy rainfall. Over ten million people in the country are expected to be affected.