Press releases
An additional 51,000 children under the age of five might die in the Middle East and North Africa by end of 2020 due to COVID-19’s disruption in primary health care
15 June 2020 – Statement from Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa and Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
Geneva Palais briefing note on the humanitarian situation of children in Yemen
12 June 2020 – “In Yemen, humanitarian needs have never been more acute, or funding more constrained. “As of today, UNICEF’s US$479 million appeal to sustain essential basic services for children this year is just 38 per cent funded."
Reaction statement to DfE weekly report on attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus outbreak. Joanna Rea, Director of Advocacy at Unicef UK says:
"It is also crucial that the Government continues to support children’s home education, particularly in relation to digital connectivity, by redoubling efforts to ensure all children are learning while at home. We urge the Government to continue to act to protect children from the impact of the pandemic and ensure it does not cast a long shadow on their futures"
Unequal access to remote schooling amid Coronavirus threatens to deepen global learning crisis
5 June 2020 – As nearly 1.2 billion schoolchildren remain affected by school closures and as they grapple with the realities of remote learning in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, UNICEF warns inherent inequalities in access to tools and technology threaten to deepen the global learning crisis.
Ebola resurfaces in Équateur Province, north-western Democratic Republic of the Congo
1 June 2020 – The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has confirmed the death of five people – including one 15-year-old girl - due to Ebola in Mbandaka.
Coronavirus: Number of children living in household poverty to soar by up to 86 million by end of year
28 May 2020 – The economic fallout of the Coronavirus pandemic could push up to 86 million more children into household poverty by the end of 2020, an increase of 15 per cent, according to a new analysis released today by Save the Children and UNICEF.
Food crisis likely to worsen in the Middle East and North Africa as Coronavirus continues
27 MAY 2020 - “Governments and partners across the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA) are working around the clock to protect communities from the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).
At least 80 million children under one at risk of diseases such as diphtheria, measles and polio as Coronavirus disrupts routine vaccination efforts, warn Gavi, WHO and UNICEF
22 May 2020 – Coronavirus is disrupting life-saving immunization services around the world, putting millions of children – in rich and poor countries alike – at risk of diseases like diphtheria, measles and polio.
UNICEF reaches nearly 150 million people with information on coronavirus across the Middle East and North Africa
21 May 2020 – Nearly 150 million people, a third of the region’s population, were reached with information to help them combat coronavirus in the Middle East and North Africa in the past eight weeks.
At least 19 million children at imminent risk as Cyclone Amphan makes landfall in Bangladesh and India
20 May 2020 – At least 19 million children in parts of Bangladesh and India are at imminent risk from flash flooding, storm surges and heavy rain as Cyclone Amphan makes landfall today, UNICEF has warned.
Decline in vaccination rates in DRC, Statement by Marixie Mercado, UNICEF Spokesperson at the Palais des Nations in Geneva
15 May 2020 - Decline in vaccination rates in DRC, Statement by Marixie Mercado, UNICEF Spokesperson at the Palais des Nations in Geneva
PALAIS BRIEFING NOTE on UNICEF’s COVID19 response in Cox’s Bazar – 15 May 2020
15 May 2020 - This is a summary of what was said by UNICEF spokesperson Marixie Mercado – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
JOINT STATEMENT ON LIBYA
13 May 2020 - Conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic present a significant threat to life in Libya. The health and safety of the country’s entire population are at risk.
Coronavirus could increase child deaths by 6,000 a day, UNICEF warns
13 MAY 2020 – An additional 6,000 children around the world could die every day from preventable causes over the next six months as the Coronavirus pandemic weakens health systems and disrupts routine services, UNICEF said today as it launches the biggest ever appeal for children in its 73 year history.