Press releases
Central African Republic: new wave of violence puts education on hold for one in two children across the country
Joint statement by UN Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown and UNICEF Representative Fran Equiza
UNICEF begins shipping syringes for the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines under COVAX
UNICEF has sent 100,000 syringes and 1,000 safety boxes for COVID-19 vaccinations to the Maldives by air freight from UNICEF’s humanitarian warehouse in Dubai—part of the first wave of COVID-19-related syringe shipments to begin rolling out in the coming days. Others in the first wave of shipments include Côte d'Ivoire and São Tomé and Príncipe.
UNICEF UK response to the UK Government’s pledge to donate surplus vaccines to poorer countries at the G7 leaders’ meeting
19 February 2021 - Statement from Joanna Rea, Director of Advocacy at the UK National Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK).
Militia violence threatens 3 million displaced children in Democratic Republic of Congo: UNICEF
19 February 2021 - Global indifference putting a generation of children at risk in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore's remarks at the UN Security Council Open Debate on ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines in contexts affected by conflict and insecurity
17 February 2021 - UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore's remarks on global access to COVID-19 vaccines
Children in Tigray in acute need of protection and assistance
12 February 2021 – As more supplies and emergency personnel reach crisis-affected people in Tigray, a troubling picture is emerging of severe harm to children.
Acute malnutrition threatens half of children under five in Yemen in 2021: UN
Nearly 2.3 million children under the age of five in Yemen are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021, four United Nations agencies warned today. Of these, 400,000 are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition and could die if they do not receive urgent treatment.
UNICEF signs supply agreement for Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
UNICEF announced today the signing of an agreement with Pfizer on behalf of the COVAX Facility for the supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine through 2021.
In the COVID-19 vaccine race, we either win together or lose together
Of the 128 million vaccine doses administered so far, more than three quarters of those vaccinations are in just 10 countries that account for 60% of global GDP
UNICEF deploys staff, medical equipment and supplies in response to new Ebola case in eastern DRC
UNICEF is deploying additional staff and preparing to send medical equipment and supplies to North Kivu following the confirmation of a new case of Ebola in eastern DRC.
UNICEF airlifts Yemeni conjoined twins to Jordan for specialized medical care
Conjoined twins born in Sana’a in mid-December last year have been medically evacuated this morning to Amman, Jordan, where they will undergo a separation surgery, starting with an assessment.
2 million additional cases of female genital mutilation likely to occur over next decade due to COVID-19
6 February 2021 - Joint Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore and UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
Remarks by Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director, at briefing on COVAX publishing interim distribution forecast
Today we are pleased to announce the conclusion of a long-term supply agreement with the Serum Institute of India for covid-19 vaccines, to access two vaccine products through technology transfer from ASTRAZENECA and NOVAVAX. UNICEF, along with our procurement partners including PAHO, will have access to up to 1.1 billion doses of vaccines for around 100 countries, for approximately $3 a dose for the low- and lower middle-income countries.
Four children reportedly killed and two children injured in two attacks in northern Syria
31 January 2021 - Statement by Bo Viktor Nylund, UNICEF Representative in Syria.
12 weeks into the conflict, ‘deeply troubling’ situation for children in Tigray
27 January 2021 – “The very little we know about the impact of the conflict on children in Tigray – from limited partner accounts and UN assessments – is deeply troubling."
Up to 90,000 children in central Mozambique urgently need humanitarian assistance in wake of Cyclone Eloise
26 January 2021 - Region’s children and families still recovering from devastation wrought by Cyclone Idai less than two years ago.
New year brings little hope for children and families in Syria
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore
Back-to-back hurricanes in Central America left at least 1.5 million children at risk of severe diseases due to water contamination
22 January 2021 – More than two months after the onset of powerful hurricanes Eta and Iota, over 1.5 million children are still exposed to life-threatening diseases in Central America
COVAX announces new agreement, plans for first deliveries
COVAX, the global initiative to ensure rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, regardless of income level, today announced the signing of an advance purchase agreement with Pfizer for up to 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate, which has already received WHO Emergency Use Listing. Rollout will commence with the successful negotiation and execution of supply agreements.