In an exclusive interview with UN News, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Vanessa Frazier, reflected on the alarming rise in grave violations against children and the urgent need to safeguard their future. “The recruitment and use of children is still one of the most widespread and devastating violations we face. In 2024 alone, […]
As heavy fighting continues between former allies the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and their allies, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that in parts of North Darfur more than half of all children are acutely malnourished. The warning follows the release of new data from the IPC, a UN-backed global food […]
Clashes in Jonglei state since the start of 2026 have displaced at least 250,000 people, mainly in the north and centre of the state, cutting families off from lifesaving care in areas already suffering some of the highest malnutrition rates in the country. Deadly risks “We are extremely concerned for women and children impacted by these […]
“We welcome efforts to bring stability to the region and now hope for a complete end to hostilities and a sustainable resolution,” said Chair of the independent UN Human Rights Council-mandated investigative team, Paulo Pinheiro, stressing the need to address acute humanitarian needs, including food, water and electricity. Recognition of rights He also welcomed a […]
Speaking in the General Assembly Hall alongside one of her great grandchildren, Mrs Lazan described her family’s journey from a ‘comfortable’ life in Hoya, northwest Germany, to a detention camp in the Netherlands – and in January 1944, internment in Bergen Belsen concentration camp. Mrs Lazan’s indomitable spirit in the face of the most inhumane […]
That’s the assessment of two senior officials from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP), speaking on Monday to journalists in New York following a week-long visit to the enclave and the occupied West Bank. The two agencies have brought more than 10,000 trucks of aid into Gaza since the 10 October truce between Israel and Hamas, representing some 80 per cent […]
Cosmas Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) – one of the key agencies that drafted the statement, which includes guidelines and recommendations – catalogues a dizzying array of ways that children are targeted. This extends from grooming to deepfakes, the embedding of harmful features, cyberbullying and inappropriate content: […]
“The simple narrative is, children are dying and it’s going to get worse,” said Julien Harneis, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen. “My fear is that we won’t hear about it until the mortality and the morbidity significantly increases in this next year.” The alert follows an attempt by forces affiliated with the Southern […]
After more than two years of civil war, more than 25 million people are now acutely hungry and at least 20 million require health services urgently. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) also warned that displaced families in some areas have not received any aid for three months, as it announced that for the first time, […]
The number of children receiving school meals through government-led programmes has gone up by 20 per cent since 2020, found the latest edition of the WFP’s flagship biennial report The State of School Feeding Worldwide. Now, nearly 80 million more children are able to enjoy nutritious meals at school, bringing the global total to approximately 466 million. […]
Official Development Assistance (ODA) for education is projected to fall by $3.2 billion – a 24 per cent drop from 2023 – with just three donor governments accounting for nearly 80 per cent of the cuts. Such a decline would push the number of out-of-school children worldwide from 272 million to 278 million, UNICEF said […]
The youngest victim of the bombing raid was two-and-a-half years old, according to the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, which released video footage showing smoke billowing from a Kyiv apartment block with a massive hole where its roof had been. Leading condemnation of the attacks, the UN Secretary-General said that targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure violated […]
Even worse, the number could triple if countries do not meet their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to ensure that climate financing prioritises social and climate resilience services for children. The finding comes in a report by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the UN Children’s […]
Around 260,000 civilians – including 130,000 children – remain trapped in the area’s main camp for internally displaced people, enduring desperate conditions without aid for more than 16 months. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been battling forces of the military government for control of Sudan for over two years, has cut off all […]
These young deaths are “the latest in the war on children and childhood in Gaza,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA, said in a tweet on Wednesday. The toll also includes some 40,00 boys and girls reported killed or injured due to bombardment and airstrikes, at least 17,000 unaccompanied and separated children, […]
Deadly sectarian clashes erupted in the southern governorate, also known as As-Sweida, in July and early August and children and families continue to feel the impact. At least 22 children reportedly were killed and another 21 injured in the violence, which caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure. More than 190,000 people, mainly women and children, […]
In July alone, nearly 12,000 children under five were identified as acutely malnourished out of 136,000 screened, according to aid partners. Of these, more than 2,500 were found to suffer from severe acute malnutrition, the most life-threatening form, and 40 had to be hospitalized in stabilisation centres. More children affected The proportion of children with […]
It is a grim milestone for Sudan, the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. But with insufficient funding, lack of access to key regions and intensifying violence, milestones like this have become the grim norm. “This is not hypothetical. It is a looming catastrophe,” said Sheldon Yett, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative in Sudan. And […]
With 96 per cent of households lacking clean water, many malnourished children are not surviving long enough to receive hospital care. James Elder, Spokesperson for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), told at a news briefing in Geneva that it would be a mistake to assume the situation is improving. “There’s a sense through the world’s […]
“I used to easily receive aid distributed by the UN,” Abir Safi, a displaced person from the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, told UN News. “Now, we get nothing. I risk my life by going to the Zikim crossing and returning with an empty bag. All I want is to return to my children with […]