Press releases
UNICEF Executive Director visits the Sahel as insecurity and displacement continue to affect children
21 June 2025 – At the end of a mission to Burkina Faso, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell called for urgent action to protect children across the Sahel whose lives are upended by insecurity, displacement and climate change.
Gaza’s Taps Running Dry: Fuel Crisis Deepens Daily Struggle for Families
AMMAN/GENEVA, 20 June 2025 – “In a war already defined by its brutality, Gaza now teeters at its deadliest edge. Currently just 40 per cent of drinking water production facilities remain functional in Gaza (87 out of 217). Without fuel, every one of these will stop operating within weeks.
More than 5,000 children diagnosed with malnutrition in the Gaza Strip in May
19 June 2025 – The number of malnourished children in the Gaza Strip is rising at an alarming rate, with 5,119 children between 6 months and 5 years of age admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in May alone.
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.
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.
Children in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo increasingly exposed to sexual violence, abduction and recruitment – UNICEF
13 February 2025 - Statement by UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, highlights how children in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are increasingly exposed to sexual violence, abduction and recruitment.
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the announcement of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip
15 January 2024 - Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the announcement of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip
Statement by UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder on continued deaths of children in Gaza
AMMAN, 26 December 2024 – “In the final days of the year, there seems to be no end in sight to the deadly threats to children in Gaza. Over the past three days, at least eleven children have reportedly been killed in attacks. Now, we are also witnessing children dying from the cold and a lack of adequate shelter.
An estimated 40,000 children impacted in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Vanuatu
PORT VILA, Vanuatu, 18 December 2024 – An estimated 40,000 children are in need of humanitarian assistance after a devastating 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit Vanuatu on December 17, followed by several major aftershocks.
Peace must prevail for Syria’s children
DAMASCUS, 17 December 2024 - “Today, I concluded my visit to Damascus, Homs, Hama, Aleppo and Idlib where I witnessed the dire situation for Syria’s children. After 14 years of war, millions of children have known nothing but conflict, forcing them to grow up far too quickly. Yet there is hope and an opportunity for a better future.
At least 90,000 children impacted as Cyclone Chido hits hard in Mozambique
MAPUTO/NEW YORK, 17 December 2024 – Heavy winds and rainfall from Cyclone Chido have damaged or destroyed over 35,000 homes and affected more than 90,000 children across Cabo Delgado province, in northern Mozambique, after the storm made landfall on Sunday.
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on children and the continued bloodshed in the Gaza Strip
NEW YORK, 13 December 2024 – “Yesterday, in yet another devastating attack on Nuseirat camp, in central Gaza, 33 people were reportedly killed – including at least eight children – and 50 wounded by airstrikes. The latest violence adds to a staggering figure of more than 160 children reportedly killed in Gaza in a little over a month. That is an average of four children every day since the beginning of November.
Child found floating alone in the sea, wearing a life jacket made of tyre tubes, after 44 other passengers on her boat believed to have drowned
GENEVA/LAMPEDUSA, Italy, 12 December 2024 – "An 11-year-old girl was rescued yesterday from a shipwreck off the coast of Italy’s Lampedusa. All 44 other people on board, including women and children, are believed to have drowned.
Birth registration steadily increases worldwide, but 150 million children still ‘invisible’ - UNICEF
NEW YORK, 11 December 2024 — Over 500 million – or close to 8 in 10 - children under five have had their births registered in the last five years, reflecting notable strides in securing legal identity worldwide, according to a new UNICEF report released today.
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the impact of the situation in Syria on children
NEW YORK, 8 December 2024 – “With the situation in Syria rapidly evolving, UNICEF reiterates the UN Secretary-General’s appeal for calm, to refrain from violence, and to protect the rights of all Syrians – especially children, at least 80 of whom have been killed in the past two weeks.
Statement by UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Director Edouard Beigbeder, on the killing of children in Nuseirat and Al Mawasi, Gaza
NEW YORK, 6 December 2024 – “In a single day of bloodshed, children in different parts of the Gaza strip were reportedly killed while sheltering inside their tents or desperately queueing for a piece of bread amid a rapidly worsening food crisis.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell's remarks at the United Nations Security Council meeting on the maintenance of peace and security in Ukraine
NEW YORK, December 4, 2024 - "Excellencies. Thank you Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield for bringing us together to speak about the consequences of the war in Ukraine on the lives of children, their families, and communities.