Press releases

NEW YORK, September 23, 2026 - UNICEF and AstraZeneca’s Young Health Programme (YHP) today announced a new phase of their partnership to support youth-led action to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among adolescents and young people.

KATHMANDU, 23 September 2026 – One month after devastating floods struck central and northern Nepal, thousands of children continue to face disruptions to their education, highlighting the urgent need for sustained support to help them return to safe learning environments.

NEW YORK/NAIROBI/KHARTOUM, 22 September 2026 – Drone strikes on two warehouses in Shikan locality, North Kordofan, on 20 September destroyed over 292,000 school textbooks, 40,000 Arabic Language and Mathematics Review Books, and other learning materials intended for distribution to children. 

PORT-AU-PRINCE, 17 September 2026 – An estimated 253,725 children aged 6 to59 months in Haiti are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition between June 2026 and May 2027, including nearly 94,000 with severe acute malnutrition while unrelenting violence by armed groups threatens to worsen conditions. 

LONDON, 17 September 2026 – Dr Philip Goodwin, Chief Executive Officer for the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), said:  “Children are bearing the brunt of UK aid cuts. These figures reveal that spending on education has been cut by nearly a third – meaning that even more children will not have access to learning, teaching and the opportunity to build a better future for themselves.  

AMMAN, 16 September 2026 – Renewed hostilities across Yemen are forcing families from their homes, killing and injuring children and disrupting access to health care and education, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis, UNICEF warned today.

SUMY, 15 September 2026 – “Nearly five years into the war in Ukraine, children’s right to education remains under attack, with consequences that will define an entire generation.

KATHMANDU, 15 September 2026 – Thousands of children affected by the recent devastating floods in Nepal require urgent mental health and psychosocial support to recover from the distress and trauma caused by the disaster, UNICEF said today.

KINSHASA, 12 September 2026 – “UNICEF is deeply saddened and alarmed by the recent fire in Bukavu, South Kivu, that broke out on 10 September that claimed the lives of at least 26 children and injured 25 others.

AMMAN, 10 September 2026 – More than 830,000 children are returning to school across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, this week, beginning a new academic year amid escalating threats to their rights to safety and access to education.

CARACAS/PANAMA CITY, 08 September 2026 –  UNICEF and Venezuela’s Ministry of People’s Power for Water Services are preparing to launch rehabilitation work in key water infrastructure in La Guaira state, including the Mamo pumping station and the Naiguatá water treatment plant, marking an important step toward restoring more reliable and sustainable services for communities affected by June’s earthquakes. The planned works are expected to benefit up to 250,000 people, including approximately 76,200 children.

KATHMANDU, 4 September 2026 – A flight carrying 84 metric tonnes of critical humanitarian supplies landed in Kathmandu, Nepal this morning, with the support of the European Union Humanitarian Aid. UNICEF is dispatching the supplies to bring urgently needed assistance for children and families affected by the devastating flash floods in the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river basin.

KATHMANDU, 3 September 2026 – More than one week after flash floods swept down the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river basin in Nepal, at least 22,000 children urgently need safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene support, UNICEF said today.

GENEVA/NEW YORK/COPENHAGEN, 2 September 2026 – A global initiative to establish a stockpile of mpox vaccines was launched on 27 August, creating a long-term mechanism to ensure countries have access to vaccines when responding to mpox outbreaks.

NAIROBI, 1 September 2026 - More than 40 million children across eight countries in Eastern and Southern Africa are expected to experience unusually wet or dry conditions between October and December 2026 due to El Niño, increasing the risk of extreme floods and droughts, according to the latest UNICEF analysis. Forecasts provide a narrow but critical window to act before the most severe consequences are felt.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, 28 August 2026 - Six children and seven women who were abducted in Kenscoff last Sunday have been released. The children include three children under the age of two, a seven-year-old and two teenage girls. UNICEF and community leaders supported efforts that contributed to their release, ending days of captivity.

PORT-AU-PRINCE/NEW YORK, 28 August 2026 – Approximately one in thirteen children in Haiti aged between 6 months and 5 years old are suffering from acute malnutrition, according to the preliminary findings by the 2026 National Nutrition SMART Survey released today.  

AMMAN, 28 August 2026 – At least four children have been reported killed and many others injured in the Gaza Strip over the past five days, while attacks have also destroyed a warehouse containing nutrition supplies and severely damaged a UNICEF-supported water facility, further undermining access to the essential services that children and families rely on.

KATHMANDU, 27 August 2026 – At least 17,000 children have been impacted by the devastating flash floods that tore through Nepal's Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts on 26 August. So far, an estimated 332 people have died – including at least 14 children - and-hundreds are still missing. The numbers are expected to rise as search operations continue.

ISLAMABAD, 26 August 2026 – “UNICEF is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of at least 14 newborn lives following a fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital in Islamabad today.