Press releases

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.

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.

AMMAN/GENEVA, 20 December 2024 – “Children in Gaza are cold, sick and traumatized. Hunger and malnutrition, and the dire living conditions more broadly, continue to put the lives of children at risk. Right now, over 96% of women and children in Gaza cannot meet their basic nutritional needs. Most are surviving on rationed flour, lentils, pasta, and canned food—a diet that slowly compromises their health.

PORT VILA, Vanuatu, 18 December 2024 – An estimated 40,000 children are in need of humanitarian assistance after a devastating 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Vanuatu on December 17, followed by several major aftershocks.

DAMASCUS, 17 December 2024 - “Today, I concluded my visit to Damascus, Homs, Hama, Aleppo and Idlib where I witnessed the dire situation for Syria’s children. After 14 years of war, millions of children have known nothing but conflict, forcing them to grow up far too quickly. Yet there is hope and an opportunity for a better future.

MAPUTO/NEW YORK, 17 December 2024 – Heavy winds and rainfall from Cyclone Chido have damaged or destroyed over 35,000 homes and affected more than 90,000 children across Cabo Delgado province, in northern Mozambique, after the storm made landfall on Sunday.

NEW YORK, 13 December 2024 – “Yesterday, in yet another devastating attack on Nuseirat camp, in central Gaza, 33 people were reportedly killed – including at least eight children – and 50 wounded by airstrikes. The latest violence adds to a staggering figure of more than 160 children reportedly killed in Gaza in a little over a month. That is an average of four children every day since the beginning of November.  

GENEVA/LAMPEDUSA, Italy, 12 December 2024 – "An 11-year-old girl was rescued yesterday from a shipwreck off the coast of Italy’s Lampedusa. All 44 other people on board, including women and children, are believed to have drowned.

NEW YORK, 11 December 2024 — Over 500 million – or close to 8 in 10 - children under five have had their births registered in the last five years, reflecting notable strides in securing legal identity worldwide, according to a new UNICEF report released today.

NEW YORK, 8 December 2024 – “With the situation in Syria rapidly evolving, UNICEF reiterates the UN Secretary-General’s appeal for calm, to refrain from violence, and to protect the rights of all Syrians – especially children, at least 80 of whom have been killed in the past two weeks.

NEW YORK, 6 December 2024 – “In a single day of bloodshed, children in different parts of the Gaza strip were reportedly killed while sheltering inside their tents or desperately queueing for a piece of bread amid a rapidly worsening food crisis.

NEW YORK, December 4, 2024 - "Excellencies. Thank you Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield for bringing us together to speak about the consequences of the war in Ukraine on the lives of children, their families, and communities.

“Today’s announcement from the Prime Minister to give every child the best start in life is hugely important for children across the country. UNICEF UK has long been calling for better investment in health and education services for children under 5 because of the vital difference early support can have at a time when a child’s rapid growth and development will influence both their childhood and their adult lives and prospects.  

26 November 2024 – Six children are among eight people who lost their lives yesterday in the Aegean Sea. The children were with some 40 people travelling on a small dinghy boat across the Eastern Mediterranean migration route between Türkiye and Greece.

NEW YORK, 20 November 2024 – The future of childhood hangs in the balance if urgent action is not taken to safeguard children’s rights in a changing world, UNICEF warned in its flagship report released on World Children’s Day today.