Press releases

27 July 2022 - UNICEF is concerned about the situation of children and families affected by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Northern Philippines at 8:43 am local time.

26 May 2022 – Stigma, poverty, and lack of access to basic services like toilets and water are causing menstrual health and hygiene needs to go unmet and increasing women and girls’ risk of infections, UNICEF warned ahead of Menstrual Hygiene Day.

25 May 2022- Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on school shooting in Uvalde, Texas

Soaring food prices driven by the war in Ukraine and pandemic-fuelled budget cuts set to drive up both need for, and cost of, life-saving therapeutic food treatment, the latter by up to 16 per cent. The number of children with severe wasting was rising even before war in Ukraine threatened to plunge the world deeper into a spiralling global food crisis - and it’s getting worse, UNICEF warned in a new Child Alert.

"The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) welcomes the release of the new UK International Development Strategy. Ensuring every child has access to a good education, reliable healthcare and is protected from harm speaks to the core of British values. 

8th May 2022 - UNICEF strongly condemns yet another attack on a school in Ukraine amid reports that civilians, including children, had sought shelter in the school’s bunker.

8th May 2022 - UNICEF statement as number of Syrian children in need hits record high

29 APRIL 2022 – UNICEF has urged parents and children living in the western province of Equateur to maintain the utmost vigilance amid the 14th and latest outbreak of Ebola virus which first emerged on the outskirts of the provincial capital Mbandaka.

26 April 2022 – The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) announced that it is seeking new commitments to fund its 2022-2026 Strategy, which if fully funded, will see the vaccination of 370 million children annually for the next five years.

22 April 2022 - UN Children’s Fund warns of rapid rise in need as humanitarian funding requirements double

18 April 2022 – Today Sana’a authorities signed an Action Plan with the United Nations to protect children and prevent grave violations against them in the context of the armed conflict in Yemen.

“An increasing number of children are at imminent risk of injury or death because of the escalation in fighting – the worst in years – in and around Tripoli.

RHOE, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 6 April 2022 – UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell today appealed for an urgent political resolution to end ongoing violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Ms. Russell had just concluded a visit to Ituri Province, an area which has been hard-hit by attacks on civilians.

LONDON, 24 MARCH 2022, Joanna Rea, Director of Advocacy UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) says: “In just a month, the war has wrought devastation for Ukraine’s 7.5 million children, and they urgently need peace and protection.

NEW YORK/GENEVA/KYIV, 24 March 2022 – One month of war in Ukraine has led to the displacement of 4.3 million children – more than half of the country’s estimated 7.5 million child population. This includes more than 1.8 million children who have crossed into neighbouring countries as refugees and 2.5 million who are now internally displaced inside Ukraine.

UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russel's statement following a reported attack against maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine