Press releases
UNICEF condemns use of children as human bombs in north-east Nigeria
17 June 2019 - According to several reports, three children - two girls and a boy (ages unknown) – were used to detonate explosives that killed 30 people and injured 40 others at a community football viewing centre in Konduga, Borno today. UNICEF sends its condolences to all those who have been killed or injured in this horrific incident.
1 in 3 people globally do not have access to safe drinking water – UNICEF, WHO
18 JUNE 2019– Billions of people around the world are continuing to suffer from poor access to water, sanitation and hygiene, according to a new report by UNICEF and the World Health Organization.
SOCCER AID FOR UNICEF ON ITV RAISES RECORD £6.7M FOR WORLD’S CHILDREN
SOCCER AID FOR UNICEF ON ITV RAISES RECORD £6.7M FOR WORLD’S CHILDREN
One woman and six newborns die every two hours from complications during pregnancy or childbirth in Yemen
14 June 2019 – One woman and six newborns die every two hours in Yemen from complications during pregnancy or childbirth, UNICEF said today in the first of a series of short snapshots on maternal and newborn health Yemen.
Record number of people facing critical lack of food in South Sudan
14 June 2019- The number of people facing a critical lack of food in South Sudan is the highest ever, three United Nations agencies warned today.
UNICEF launches swift response as first Ebola cases and deaths confirmed in Uganda
13 June 2019 – UNICEF has launched an emergency Ebola response plan in Uganda following the confirmation of the first three cases of the Ebola Virus Disease in the country over the past two days.
Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Estonia and Portugal rank highest for family-friendly policies in OECD and EU countries
13 June 2019 – Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Estonia and Portugal offer the best family-friendly policies among 31 rich countries with available data, according to a new UNICEF report. Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, United Kingdom and Ireland rank the lowest.
FOOTBALL AND ENTERTAINMENT STARS UNITE TO RAISE £425,000 AT FIRST EVER SOCCER AID FOR UNICEF GALA
London, wednesday 12 June - Soccer Aid for Unicef players including Usain Bolt, Niall Horan, Jamie Redknapp and Sir Mo Farah joined more than 250 guests for a star-studded gala tonight at the Science Museum in South Kensington, raising a staggering £425,000 to support Unicef’s vital work protecting children in danger around the world.
Children killed, injured, detained and abused amid escalating violence and unrest in Sudan
At least 19 children have reportedly been killed in Sudan and another 49 have been injured since June 3rd.
UNICEF provided life-saving support to children in almost 300 emergencies in 2018
10 June 2019 - In 2018, UNICEF responded to 285 humanitarian emergencies in 90 countries around the world, providing vital life-saving support to millions of children.
UNICEF ramps up its humanitarian assistance to children in Venezuela, delivers 55 tons of health supplies since January
7 June 2019 – Fifty-five tons of UNICEF health supplies have reached Venezuela since the beginning of the year, the United Nations children’s organization said today.
115 million boys and men around the world married as children - UNICEF
7 June 2019 – An estimated 115 million boys and men around the world were married as children, UNICEF said today in its first ever in-depth analysis of child grooms. Of these, 1 in 5 children, or 23 million, were married before the age of 15.
World not delivering quality maternal health care to poorest mothers
3 June 2019 – More than 5 million families across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean spend over 40 per cent of their non-food household expenses on maternal health services every year, UNICEF said today in a new analysis on maternal health.
Unicef UK urges the international community to eliminate gender inequality to ensure better quality healthcare for women and girls
As The Lancet launches its new Series on Gender Equality, Norms and Health, which finds that governments and health institutions have persistently failed to make progress towards gender equality, UNICEF is calling on the international community to work together to eliminate gender inequality.
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom visits children displaced by Cyclone Idai in Mozambique
30 May 2019 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom visited Mozambique this week, where 1.1 million children remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of tropical cyclones Idai and Kenneth.
Tens of thousands of children in grave danger as violence escalates in northwest Syria
30 May 2019 – “Tens of thousands of children in northwest Syria are at imminent risk of injury, death and displacement because of a significant escalation in fighting. Violence has intensified over the past few days, especially in villages in northern Hama and southern Idlib.
Two million children under five suffering from acute malnutrition in Afghanistan
28 May 2019- Among the 2 million children under the age of five years who are suffering from acute malnutrition, 600,000 children are currently suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Afghanistan sees three-fold increase in attacks on schools in one year – UNICEF
28 May 2019 – Attacks on schools in Afghanistan tripled between 2017 and 2018, surging from 68 to 192, UNICEF said today. It was the first time school attacks had increased since 2015.
Attack in Taiz leaves 7 children dead, brings total child casualties in Yemen to 27 in just over 10 days
26 May 2019- “Seven children between the ages of 4 and 14 were killed on Friday in an attack on the Mawiyah district, in the southern Yemeni city of Taiz.