Press releases

GENEVA/JUBA, 13 February 2026 – “Since late December 2025, a devastating escalation of violence has swept across northern and central parts of South Sudan. At least 280,000 people have been displaced in Jonglei State alone. The majority are women and children. For some, this is the second or third time they have been forced to run.

ISLAMABAD, 07 February 2026 - “UNICEF strongly condemns the devastating attack at a place of worship in Islamabad yesterday, that reportedly claimed the lives of six children. The killing of children is unconscionable and constitutes a grave violation of their rights.

AMMAN, 6 February 2026 – “We are only a few weeks into the new year and already the toll of violence and conflict on children in the region is devastating.

NEW YORK, 6 February 2026 – In 2026 alone, an estimated 4.5 million girls—many under the age of five—are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation. Currently, more than 230 million girls and women are living with its consequences.

NEW YORK, 4 February 2026 – “UNICEF is increasingly alarmed by reports of a rapid rise in the volume of AI-generated sexualised images circulating, including cases where photographs of children have been manipulated and sexualised.

JUBA, 03 February 2026 - More than 450,000 children are at risk of acute malnutrition as the hostilities are causing mass displacement and halting of critical health and nutrition services in Jonglei state, warned UNICEF in South Sudan.  

London, 27 January 2026 - “This announcement is a grave warning about the state of children’s health in the UK. When vaccination rates fall children are left painfully exposed to risks of serious illness, life-long complications, and even death.”  

NEW YORK, 26 January 2026 - “Carl Skau from WFP and I have just returned from Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where we spent the entire last week, and I am speaking to you with both hope and concern after this visit. “This was my fifth visit to the State of Palestine since the war began. For the first time in many months, there are signs that an imperfect, fragile but vital ceasefire is making a difference in the lives of over one million children.“

GAZA, 22 January 2026 – After more than two years of restrictions, UNICEF has been allowed to bring recreational kits to the Gaza Strip to support children’s learning, wellbeing, and resilience. Since Thursday 15 January, 5,168 recreational kits have entered the Strip, supporting more than 375,000 children - including 1,000 children with disabilities.

XAI XAI/GENEVA, 20 January 2026 – “In Mozambique today, flooding is not just destroying homes, schools, health centres and roads. It is turning unsafe water, disease outbreaks and malnutrition into a deadly threat for children.  

AMMAN, 11 January 2026 – “We are extremely concerned by continuing reports of children and adolescents being killed and injured amid the ongoing public unrest in Iran. Our thoughts are with the families of those who have been killed and injured, and we share their grief. 

AMMAN, 9 January 2026 – “For the children of Sudan, the world is 1,000 days late.“Since fighting erupted in April 2023, Sudan has become one of the largest and most devastating humanitarian crises in the world, pushing millions of children to the brink of survival. A profound protection crisis with widespread violations of international law by parties to the conflict, exacerbated by a lack of humanitarian access, has deepened with each of the 1,000 days of agony that have passed.

NEW YORK/MAPUTO, 5 December 2025 – Over 100,000 people, around two thirds of them children, have been displaced in northern Mozambique during the month of November, following attacks against civilians.

London, Thursday 4 December 2025: Today the Child Poverty Taskforce has revealed their strategy to tackle child poverty in the UK - UNICEF UK responds.

Wednesday 26 November 2025, London: Today the Government has announced a full scrap of the harmful two-child limit policy on Universal Credit from April 2026. 

Geneva/New York/Copenhagen, 24 November 2025 – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF today announced a new agreement that will make the R21/Matrix-M™ malaria vaccines significantly more accessible and affordable, paving the way to protect more children from one of the world’s deadliest diseases.

DAKAR/ABUJA, 22 November 2025 – Scores of children and teachers were reportedly abducted from a secondary school in Niger State, Nigeria, in the early hours of Friday, just days after a separate attack in Kebbi State on Monday led to the abduction of 25 girls from a boarding school.

More than 1 in 5 children in low- and middle-income countries – or 417 million – are severely deprived in at least two vital areas critical for their health, development, and wellbeing, according to UNICEF’s flagship report issued on World Children’s Day today. Record numbers of children are living in poverty across the UK. The UK saw a 34% increase in relative child income poverty between 2013 and 2023. The UK has the highest increase in relative child income poverty of the 37 high-income countries reviewed.