Press releases
Nearly zero progress in reducing the global out-of-school rate over the past decade
6 September 2017 – With 11.5 per cent of school-age children – or 123 million – missing out on learning today, compared to 12.8 per cent – or 135 million – in 2007, the percentage of 6-15 year olds who are out of school has barely decreased in the last decade.
Statement by Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director, on children affected by the violence in Rakhine, Myanmar
5 September 2017 – More than 125,000 Rohingya refugees have fled across the border from Rakhine State, Myanmar, into Bangladesh since 25 August, as many as 80 per cent of them are women and children.
16 million children affected by massive flooding in South Asia, with millions more at risk
2 September 2017 - Weeks of torrential monsoon rains and catastrophic flooding in three countries of South Asia – Nepal, India, and Bangladesh – have devastated the lives of millions of children and families.
UNICEF scaling up its emergency response in Bangladesh
31 August 2017 - UNICEF with partners are scaling up the emergency response in the flood-affected northern and central parts of Bangladesh.
More than 180 million people lack basic drinking water in countries ravaged by conflict or unrest - Unicef
29 August 2017 – More than 180 million people do not have access to basic drinking water in countries affected by conflict, violence and instability around the world, UNICEF warned today, as World Water Week gets under way.
Displaced, disoriented and shocked, children from Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor need urgent assistance and protection
25th August - UNICEF Representative in Syria, Fran Equiza, said: “The impact of war on children across Syria continues to be staggering. Ongoing and heavy fighting has displaced thousands of families from Raqqa city and Deir-ez-Zor.
Amid scorching heatwave, access to water and electricity down by one-third in the Gaza Strip
22nd August 2017 - The worsening electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip has left families with less than six hours of daily power supply. Half of the two million people living in the coastal enclave are children.
Use of children as ‘human bombs’ rising in northeast Nigeria
22 August 2017 – Unicef is extremely concerned about an appalling increase in the cruel and calculated use of children, especially girls, as ‘human bombs’ in northeast Nigeria.
Dramatic increase in violence in the Central African Republic - UNICEF
15 August 2017 - The past year - and especially the last quarter - has seen a dramatic increase in violence. There are now an estimated 600,000 internally displaced people, up from 440,000 at the end of April – a big increase in the past 2-3 months.
More than half a million children in Libya need humanitarian assistance
10 August 2017- “Six years since the crisis began in Libya, over 550,000 children need assistance because of political instability, on-going conflict, displacement, and economic collapse.
“Nothing can justify terrible acts of abuse against women and children in Kasai”: UNICEF
7 August 2017 - The world must not turn a blind eye to the dire situation of children and families in the Grand Kasai region. Over the past 12 months, more than 1.4 million people – including 850,000 children – have been forced from their homes, and their lives turned upside down by widespread acts of extreme violence.
Babies and mothers worldwide failed by lack of investment in breastfeeding
1 August 2017 – No country in the world fully meets recommended standards for breastfeeding, according to a new report by UNICEF and the World Health Organization
Clooney Foundation for Justice partners with Unicef to open seven public schools to Syrian refugee children
31 July 2017 – The Clooney Foundation for Justice today announced a $2.25 million partnership to support formal education for Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
850,000 children displaced by violence in Democratic Republic of the Congo’s volatile Kasai region
28 July 2017 – More than 1 million people have been forced from their homes by waves of violent conflict in the Greater Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Children on the move from Africa do not first aim to go to Europe
25 July 2017 - Children on the move into Europe from Africa take the decision to leave home on their own and do not initially intend to go to Europe.
Abused, exploited and abandoned children caught up in violence in Mosul need immediate care and protection
22 July 2017 – The worst of the violence in Mosul may be over but for too many children in Mosul and in the region, extreme suffering continues.
Malala visits Nigeria to draw attention to education crisis
18 July 2017 – During her visit to Nigeria, education activist Malala Yousafzai met today with girls displaced by the Boko Haram crisis.
Children increasingly targeted in Central African Republic violence
18 July 2017 – Months of renewed fighting in the Central African Republic (CAR) have led to an increasing number of violent acts committed against children, including murders, abductions, rape and recruitment into armed groups.
Lilly Singh appointed UNICEF’s newest Goodwill Ambassador
15 July 2017 – Actress, comedian, and author Lilly Singh was appointed Unicef’s newest Goodwill Ambassador at a special event today in New Delhi.
Mosul’s children, sick, alone, wounded and scarred, are in urgent need of assistance and protection
13 July 2017 - UNICEF’s Deputy Representative in Iraq, Hamida Ramadhani, said: “Although the battle for Mosul is coming to an end, children’s deep physical and mental scars will take time to heal. Some 650,000 boys and girls, who have lived through the nightmare of violence in Mosul, have paid a terrible price and endured many horrors over the past three years.