Press releases

Over 86,000 Haitian children under five are projected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year, compared to 41,000 children last year and could die if they don’t get urgent assistance. UNICEF is alarmed by the spike in malnutrition over the past year and concerned about the shortage of ready-to-use therapeutic food in the coming weeks.

GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 27 May 2021 – As the authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) advise people living in part of the city of Goma to vacate their homes due to the risk of another volcanic eruption, UNICEF has warned that as many as 400,000 people - including 280,000 children - could be displaced and in need of protection or support.

It’s understandable that some countries want to press ahead and vaccinate all of their populations. By donating vaccines to COVAX alongside domestic vaccination programmes, the most at-risk populations can be protected globally, which is instrumental to ending the acute phase of the pandemic, curbing the rise and threat of variants, and accelerating a return to normality.

25 May 2021 - “The scenes we are witnessing in South Asia are unlike anything our region has seen before. Family members of patients are carrying oxygen cylinders inside hospitals, risking their own lives in hopes of saving a loved one. Exhausted health workers are working sixteen-hour days, unable to pay individual attention to every patient under their care. We are faced with a real possibility of fragile health systems collapsing.

25 May 2021 – Attacks on water and sanitation facilities and workers in conflicts around the world continue to put the lives of millions of children at risk and deny children and families access to critical water and sanitation services, UNICEF warned today.

23 May 2021 – UNICEF has reported that more than 150 children have been separated from their families and more than 170 children are feared to be missing as people fled the city of Goma, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, following Mount Nyiragongo's eruption last night.

EAST JERUSALEM/GAZA STRIP, 21 May 2021- UNICEF delivered lifesaving critical humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip today, with 18 containers of assistance. This aid supply entered the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing in support of children and families due to the recent escalation.

GENEVA, 21 May 2021 - "We are extremely thankful that a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza strip came into effect at 2 am this morning because the human toll there has been huge. We also hope that a resolution to the ongoing violence, and causes of violence, in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is found as soon as possible."

21 May 2021 - Statement on the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.

21 May 2021 – UNICEF urgently requires $164 (£117) million to procure oxygen and testing supplies, medical equipment, personal protective equipment and infection prevention and control material to help save lives amid a deadly wave of COVID-19 across South Asia.

18 May 2021 – “Gaza’s one million children are reeling from the mounting consequences of violent conflict with nowhere safe to turn. Lives have been lost, and families shattered."

18 May 2021 - Over 70 philanthropists have signed an open letter calling on wealthy individuals to support UNICEF.

17 May 2021 - Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, as G7 countries gear up for June summit.

16 May 2021 - In Gaza, schools have been destroyed, homes and offices have been flattened, and entire families have been displaced.

14 May 2021 – From Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

12 May 2021 – “At least 14 children in the State of Palestine and 1 child in Israel have been reported killed since Monday."

12 May 2021 - The UK Government should urgently commit to sharing 20% of its available Covid-19 vaccine doses from June.

Escalation in the Gaza Strip last night, following weeks of violence in Jerusalem, resulted in at least 20 people killed, including nine Palestinian children confirmed. Four of the children were siblings, and many attended the same UNRWA school. At least 25 children have been confirmed as injured, with many other injured children reported.

“Over the past two days, 29 Palestinian children were injured in East Jerusalem including in the Old City and the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. Eight Palestinian children were meanwhile arrested.“A one-year old toddler was among those injured. Some children were taken for treatment at hospitals with injuries in the head and the spine.