Press releases

GOMA, DR Congo, 3 March 2025 – UNICEF and its partners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are providing life-saving clean water supplies to 700,000 people a day – around 364,000 children – in the main eastern city of Goma after breaks in the water supply during fighting.

NEW YORK / AMMAN, 3 March 2025 – UNICEF is warning that the stoppage of aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip will quickly lead to devastating consequences for children and families across Gaza who are struggling to survive.

GENEVA/BEIRUT, 28 February 2024 – “I am speaking to you this morning from Beirut to share alarming findings of the new UNICEF survey we conducted in January 2025, after more than a year of war and bombardment.

GENEVA, 28 February 2025 – “In just one month, January this year, armed groups destroyed 47 schools in Haiti’s capital. With 284 schools destroyed in 2024, the relentless attacks on education are accelerating, leaving hundreds of thousands of children without a place to learn.  

PORT SUDAN, 27 February 2025 – More than 500 children are among the 2,700 cholera cases, that have been reported in Sudan’s White Nile State between 1 January and 24 February 2025, according to health authorities. The outbreak has already killed at least 65 people including ten children. In response, UNICEF, together with the Federal Ministry of Health and humanitarian partners, is scaling up a multisectoral response to prevent further spread of the disease and protect vulnerable children.

GOMA, DR Congo, 26 February 2025 – UNICEF is deeply concerned by the significant increase in reports of grave violations against children in parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The number of incidents has tripled since the latest escalation of violence which began on 24 January 2025.

“We are deeply concerned by the decision taken by the UK Government today to reduce the aid budget even further, and the impact this will have on the world’s most vulnerable children. 

MIAMI/NEW YORK, 21 February 2025 - The Inter Miami CF Foundation and UNICEF announced a new global partnership today that will support access to quality education programmes for children in five countries across Latin America and the Caribbean.

NEW YORK, 21 February 2025 – ""I am deeply saddened by the confirmation of the deaths of Ariel and Kfir Bibas in the Gaza Strip, and call for the urgent return of their mother and all hostages held in Gaza. On behalf of UNICEF, I offer my heartfelt condolences to their loved ones, including the children’s father.

ZAPORIZHZHIA/GENEVA, 21 February 2025 – “A staggering one in five children in Ukraine reported losing a close relative or friend since the escalation of the war three years ago. One in three children reported feeling so hopeless and sad that they couldn't do their usual activities.

KYIV/NEW YORK, 21 February 2025 – One in five children in Ukraine has reported losing a close relative or friend since the escalation of war three years ago, according to survey data released today by UNICEF.

EAST JERUSALEM/AMMAN/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 19 February 2024 - The emergency polio outbreak response in the Gaza Strip is continuing, with a mass vaccination campaign scheduled from 22 to 26 February 2025. The novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) will be administered to over 591,000 children under 10 years of age to protect them from polio. This campaign follows the recent detection of poliovirus in wastewater samples in Gaza, signaling ongoing circulation in the environment putting children at risk.

NAIROBI, 19 February 2025 - Public health emergencies, including outbreaks of cholera, mpox and, more recently, viral haemorrhagic fevers, are posing significant threats to the safety and wellbeing of millions of children in Eastern and Southern Africa, UNICEF said today.

KINSHASA, 17 February 2025 – As levels of violence and displacement in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) surge, UNICEF is calling for emergency measures to save the school year for hundreds of thousands of children.

13 February 2025 - Statement by UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, highlights how children in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are increasingly exposed to sexual violence, abduction and recruitment.

AMMAN, 12 February 2025 – “Conflict-related violence continues to bring death and fear to civilians, including women and children in the West Bank. On 7 February, a 10-year-old Palestinian boy succumbed to his wounds after reportedly being shot, while two days later, in another tragic event in Nur Shams camp, an eight-months pregnant woman was reportedly shot and killed along with her unborn baby.

GENEVA, 7 February 2025 – “A staggering 1,000 per cent rise in sexual violence against children in Haiti has turned their bodies into battlegrounds. The 10-fold rise, recorded from 2023 to last year, comes as armed groups inflict unimaginable horrors on children.

NEW YORK/GENEVA, 6 February 2025 – “Female genital mutilation is a violation of human rights that inflicts deep and lifelong physical, emotional, and psychological scars on girls and women. This harmful practice affects more than 230 million girls and women today. An estimated 27 million more girls could endure this violation of their rights and dignity by 2030 if we do not take action now.

BANGKOK, 6 February 2025 – As Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, grapples with unhealthy levels of air pollution, leading to school closures and widespread health concerns, UNICEF’s latest analysis sheds light on the devastating impact of toxic air on children across East Asia and the Pacific.