A baby, sitting on his mother's lap, with Tom Hiddleston at the National Institute of Child Health and Nutrition in Guinea
A baby, sitting on his mother's lap, with Tom Hiddleston at the National Institute of Child Health and Nutrition in Guinea

Tom Hiddleston

UNICEF UK Ambassador

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“I feel very strongly that we are all responsible for the state of our world. Every child deserves a fair start to life.”

In 2015 and again in 2016, UNICEF UK Ambassador and actor Tom Hiddleston travelled to South Sudan and saw how the civil war and cholera outbreak destroyed the lives of vast numbers of children.

“Everyone I’ve met has experienced traumatic events that no one – least of all a child – should ever have to go through,” said Tom as he reflected on what he saw during the trip.

Tom meets baby Emmanuela

During one of his visits to a UNICEF-supported emergency feeding centre, Tom met baby Emannuela. Speaking to her mother, Regina, he learnt how they had been caught up in the fighting but managed to escape, travelling miles by foot to reach Wau Shilluk in the north east of the country.

15-month-old Emmanuela was suffering from severe malnutrition and desperately required medical attention. Eventually, she and her mother were able to get to the centre where Emmanuela received lifesaving treatment.

Emmanuela is one of many children across the country facing malnutrition due to the conflict. Since visiting South Sudan, Tom has helped to raise critical funds to ensure our teams can provide children and families with life-saving food across the east Africa region.

Tom in Guinea

In 2013, Tom met children and families in Guinea hearing their stories and seeing how we support them on the ground. He visited several of our projects, finding out about our work in child protection, education, water and sanitation, hunger and malnutrition.

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Soccer Aid for UNICEF

Tom made his Soccer Aid for UNICEF debut in 2023, not only playing the full 90 minutes of the match but also leading a powerful half time moment showing the audience at home and the fans in the stadium the impact of UNICEF’s work.

Join Tom Hiddleston

We are working tirelessly to protect children everywhere, and give them hope for a happy future. We’re in communities, including in the largest displacement camp in South Sudan, to provide education, life-saving food and family tracing and reunification support.

Join Tom in helping us protect more children in danger. Make a donation today.

UNICEF UK Ambassador Tom Hiddleston is pictured with a child at the UNMISS protection of civilians camp in Malakal, Upper Nile State, South Sudan
Tom talks to then Minister for International Development, Justine Greening, at Hampstead School about education in emergencies ahead of the World Humanitarian summit, with children giving support to the education of children in other countries.
Tom talks to UNICEF South Sudan Child Protection Specialist, Joy Wai Ping Cheung about the dangers children face in South Sudan, at the UNMISS protection of civilians camp in Malakal, Upper Nile State, South Sudan on February 28, 2015. includes nutrition, health, WASH, education and protection programming.
UNICEF UK Ambassador Tom Hiddleston walks out of a UNICEF warehouse that stores recreation kits and school in boxes in Juba, South Sudan on February 26, 2015.
Tom visits a vocational training centre in Kankan and meets young people in the woodwork class. Their training is funded by the Peace Building Fund in Kankan. UNICEF worked closely with the government to develop a programme to support young people who had been in the armed forces.
Tom Hiddleston at Ecole in Layiya
UNICEF UK Ambassador Tom Hiddleston at the Centre de Sante in Mandiana, a remote village in eastern Guinea.
Tom is pictured with a child at the UNMISS protection of civilians camp in Malakal, Upper Nile State, South Sudan UNICEF support includes nutrition, health, WASH, education and protection programming.
Tom joins Usain Bolt for Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2023
Tom talks to then Minister for International Development, Justine Greening, at Hampstead School about education in emergencies ahead of the World Humanitarian summit, with children giving support to the education of children in other countries.
Tom speaks to guests at the Blue Moon Gala - marking 75 years of UNICEF helping children around the world to live, learn and grown
Tom talks to UNICEF South Sudan Child Protection Specialist, Joy Wai Ping Cheung about the dangers children face in South Sudan, at the UNMISS protection of civilians camp in Malakal, Upper Nile State, South Sudan
Tom walks out of a UNICEF warehouse that stores recreation kits and school in boxes in Juba, South Sudan
Tom visits a vocational training centre in Kankan, Guinea, and meets young people in the woodwork class. Their training is funded by the Peace Building Fund in Kankan. UNICEF worked closely with the government to develop a programme to support young people who had been in the armed forces.
Tom speaks with some of the participants at the UNICEF-supported 'Projet Tinafan', Conakry, Guinea.
Tom visits a school, the L’École Primaire Layiya in Kouroussa – on the edge of the National Park of the Upper Niger, in the region of Kankan. Before lunch the school split into teams for a football game.
Tom at the Centre de Sante in Mandiana, a remote village in eastern Guinea. The doctor is showing Tom how to first screen for malnutrition with a simple arm band. The red zone would mean severely malnourished. The eight-month-old boy being tested registers on the border of the yellow and the red zones. He’s diagnosed as moderately malnourished.
Tom at Loppe Village, Guinea being shown one of the community's wells. "The central imperative in a remote village like Loppe is to separate water sources, to keep access to the water wells clean, to protect them from run-off from the land in the rainy season, which is contaminated by animal waste, and guard the mouths of the wells from the animals themselves. We are also shown several defecation points. The Unicef programme has helped to implement key practical design developments: providing concrete covers over the latrines to keep the flies out, building concrete walls to keep the animals away, provide kettles full of water and a bar of soap to wash your hands afterwards. If there’s no bar of soap, there’s a bucket of ash that will do the trick. This basic hygiene and good sanitation raises the standard of general health, and protects mothers and children from passing on disease."
Tom filming for Take a Breath, a campaign. The campaign aims to highlight the impact air pollution has on children as well as giving advice to consumers and businesses on ways to improve it.
Tom greets his England Manager Stormzy at Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2023

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