Press releases
Lifesaving humanitarian supply route cut in South Sudan leaving malnourished children at risk
JUBA, 8 May 2025 - More than 60,000 malnourished children in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state are at risk of plunging deeper into malnutrition as treatment supplies run critically low and resupply efforts are hampered, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF warned today.
THE CLIPPER RACE AND UNICEF MARK A DECADE OF PARTNERSHIP, TO CHAMPION A BETTER WORLD FOR CHILDREN
06 May 2025 – Today, the leading child rights organisation, UNICEF, was announced as a Team and Charity Partner of the Clipper Race once again. The announcement came ahead of the 2025-26 race season, and marks a decade of commitment from the global yacht race to advancing child rights globally.
Statement from UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the situation for children in the Gaza Strip after two months of aid blockade
NEW YORK, 2 May 2025 - “For two months, children in the Gaza Strip have faced relentless bombardments while being deprived of essential goods, services and lifesaving care. With each passing day of the aid blockade, they face the growing risk of starvation, illness and death – nothing can justify this.
Civilians trapped, children at risk, amid escalating violence in Darfur
KYIV, 24 April 2025 – “The latest in a series of attacks across Ukraine has reportedly killed three children and injured six more in the capital, Kyiv.PORT SUDAN, 1 MAY 2025- “As fighting intensifies in Darfur, children are bearing the brunt of a deepening humanitarian catastrophe. In the past three weeks, thousands of children and families have been forced to flee their homes - many for the second or third time – in search of an elusive sense of safety.
Horrific strikes reportedly kill three children and injure at least six others in Kyiv
KYIV, 24 April 2025 – “The latest in a series of attacks across Ukraine has reportedly killed three children and injured six more in the capital, Kyiv.
Increases in vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks threaten years of progress, warn WHO, UNICEF, Gavi
GENEVA/NEW YORK, 24 April 2025 – Immunization efforts are under growing threat as misinformation, population growth, humanitarian crises, and funding cuts jeopardize progress and leave millions of children, adolescents, and adults at risk, warn WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi during World Immunization Week, 24-30 April.
At least one million children facing emergency levels of food insecurity in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE/ NEW YORK, 17 APRIL 2025 – Over one million children are facing critical levels of food insecurity in Haiti, UNICEF estimates. Persistent armed violence, repeated displacement, and lack of sufficient humanitarian access continue to threaten vulnerable families – while the risk of famine looms.
At least 23 children and 9 aid workers reportedly killed in Al Fasher, Abu Shouk and Zamzam camps in North Darfur, Sudan
12 April 2025 – “Dozens of civilians, including at least 23 children, and several aid workers have reportedly been killed in North Darfur over the past few days.
At least 14 million children face disruptions to critical nutrition services in
Reductions in donor funding threaten to unravel decades of progress for the world’s most vulnerable children and women
UNICEF UK RESPONSE TO PLANS TO MOVE ODA CUTS FORWARD, ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE IN 2027
We are shocked by the decision taken today by the UK Government to begin implementing cuts to the ODA budget from 2025.
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Millie Bobby Brown meets adolescent girls in Brazil and champions their rights
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Millie Bobby Brown met adolescent girls and young children while in São Paulo, Brazil, this week, to hear about their lives, the challenges they face, and how they are pursuing their dreams.
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the attacks in Gaza
“Reports and images emerging from the Gaza Strip following today’s attacks are beyond horrifying. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed, including more than 130 children, representing the largest single-day child death toll in the last year.
Palestinian children remain deprived of the most essential supplies and services
I have just concluded a four-day mission to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The situation is extremely concerning.
Tens of thousands of families displaced by fighting in DR Congo’s South Kivu as UNICEF scales up humanitarian response
The resurgence of conflict in the province of South Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has forced more than 850,000 people—nearly half of them children—to flee their homes. Many are living in precarious conditions, taking shelter in schools, churches, or in the open, with limited access to clean water and sanitation, healthcare, and education.
European Region reports highest number of measles cases in more than 25 years – UNICEF, WHO/Europe
GENEVA/COPENHAGEN, 13 March 2025 – 127,350 measles cases were reported in the European Region in 2024, double the number of cases reported for 2023 and the highest number since 1997, according to an analysis by WHO and UNICEF.
Geneva Palais briefing note: Malnutrition tightening its grip on children in Rohingya refugee Camps
DHAKA/GENEVA, 11 March 2025 – “Children in the world’s largest refugee camp are experiencing the worst levels of malnutrition since the massive displacement that occurred in 2017.
27 per cent surge in number of children admitted for severe acute malnutrition treatment in Rohingya refugee camps – UNICEF
DHAKA/COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh, 11 March 2025 – The number of children needing emergency treatment for severe acute malnutrition in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh has surged by 27 per cent in February 2025 compared to the same period last year, as worsening conditions push more young children into life-threatening hunger.
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on global foreign aid reductions
NEW YORK, 5 March 2025 – “Announced and anticipated funding cuts will limit UNICEF’s ability to reach millions of children in dire need.
Children as young as one reported among survivors of rape during Sudan’s violent conflict – UNICEF
NEW YORK, 4 March 2025 – Armed men are raping and sexually assaulting children, including infants as young as one, amid the nationwide conflict rippling across Sudan.