Press releases
Syria: Lives of Children at Risk Amid Heavy Fighting and Floods in Northwest Syria
3 January 2019 – Children continue to pay the heaviest price due to the escalation in violence in northwest Syria. UNICEF received alarming reports of 80 people killed, including one child.
New Year’s Babies: Over 2100 children will be born in the UK on New Year’s Day - UNICEF
1 January 2019: An estimated 2135 babies will be born in the United Kingdom on New Year’s Day, UNICEF said today
World has failed to protect children in conflict in 2018
28 December 2018 – The futures of millions of children living in countries affected by armed conflict are at risk, as warring parties continue to commit grave violations against children, and world leaders fail to hold perpetrators accountable – UNICEF said today.
UNICEF UK PAYS TRIBUTE TO LORD PADDY ASHDOWN - FORMER PRESIDENT AND AMBASSADOR
Unicef UK pays tribute to its former President and Ambassador, Lord Paddy Ashdown, who has died at the age of 77.
UK White Paper on Immigration is a missed opportunity to help refugee and migrant children
Alastair Harper, Unicef UK, responds to the White Paper on Immigration published today
Child given world’s first drone-delivered vaccine in Vanuatu - UNICEF
18 December 2018 –One month old Joy Nowai, today became the world’s first child to be given a vaccine delivered commercially by drone in a remote island in the South Pacific country of Vanuatu.
Orlando Bloom meets children working in Bangladesh slums in powerful photography series
18 December 2018 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom stars in Netflix series Tales by Light to highlight the plight of children living and working in slums in Bangladesh.
Yemen peace talks and Hudaydah ceasefire signal hope for country’s children
13 December 2018 – “Today millions of children across Yemen saw their dreams of peace inch closer to reality with the close of promising negotiations between the warring parties and an agreed ceasefire in the port city of Hudaydah.
15,000 children without parents or missing, five years after outbreak of fighting in South Sudan
13 December 2018 – Fifteen thousand children remain separated from their families or missing, five years after conflict first broke out in South Sudan.
Half of Syria’s children have grown up only seeing violence as conflict nears eight-year mark: UNICEF
13 December 2018 – With an estimated 4 million children born in Syria since the conflict started nearly eight years ago, half of the country’s children have grown up only knowing war, UNICEF said today. Reaching them wherever they are and meeting their immediate and future needs remains a priority.
Nearly 30 million sick and premature newborns in dire need of treatment every year
13 December 2018: Nearly 30 million babies are born too soon, too small or become sick every year and need specialized care to survive, according to a new report by a global coalition that includes UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Children account for more than one third of Ebola cases in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo – UNICEF
11 December 2018 – Children now account for more than one third of the Ebola cases in affected regions of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UNICEF said today. The UN children’s agency also reported that one in ten Ebola cases is under five-years-old, while children who contract the Ebola virus are at higher risk of dying from the disease than adults.
Latest threat to displaced children in Iraq: Winter
10 December 2018 - UNICEF is calling attention to the plight of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced children in Iraq whose lives are threatened by freezing temperatures and floods that have affected large parts of the country.
UNICEF statement on the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
10 December 2018 – Statement from UNICEF Director of Data, Research and Policy, Laurence Chandy: “Today’s adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is a historic achievement for migrant children and States alike.
European Union contributes over £542,000 for three years to support UNICEF's work for protecting children affected by migration in Bangladesh
10 December 2018 – The European Union has contributed over £542,000 to support UNICEF’s work to protect the rights of children affected by migration in Bangladesh.
Humanitarian assistance continues to prevent a massive human catastrophe in Yemen but it is not enough
7 December 2018 – As many as 20 million Yemenis are food insecure in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Already, 15.9 million people wake up hungry, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, which was released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and humanitarian partners.
Refugee and migrant children and youth report severe deprivations while on the move
7 December 2018 – Two thirds of respondents in a UNICEF poll of nearly 4,000 refugees and migrants – aged 14 to 24 – revealed that they were forced to leave their countries, while almost half did so alone. ‘A Right to be Heard: Listening to children and young people on the move’ provides alarming insights into the challenges and deprivations faced by young refugees and migrants as they make the journey in search of safety and a better life.
Yemen’s children: 15 million lives scarred and voices not heard
5 December 2018 – “The living conditions of millions of children in Yemen are a disgrace. There is no excuse for these dark realities in the 21st century. Wars, deep economic crises and decades of underdevelopment have not spared a single girl or boy in Yemen. The suffering of children is all man-made.
Unicef UK responds to Mayor's toxic air initiative for London nurseries
The Mayor has today launched a new initiative to help clean up toxic air and protect the health of young children at nurseries in some of the most polluted parts of London. 20 nurseries in pollution hot spots across the capital will receive new ‘air quality audits’, to help identify measures to reduce children’s exposure to toxic air pollution. Five nurseries will trial new air quality filtration systems to test their effectiveness at reducing indoor pollution.
Statement on the situation in Bentiu, South Sudan
3 December 2018 - "In the past 12 days, more than 150 women and girls have sought assistance after suffering sexual violence, including rape, near Bentiu in South Sudan.