Press centre
Press releases and news notes
West and Central Africa
Japan boosts child survival in Nigeria with $8 million grant
ABUJA, 20 June 2008 - UNICEF today received a grant of N940 Million (US $ 8.04 million) from the Government of Japan for child survival programmes in Nigeria.
Experts gather at UNICEF to review major yellow fever campaigns in Africa
NEW YORK, 28 May 2008 – Global health experts who make up the International Coordinating Group set up to fight yellow fever are gathering at...
UNICEF feeds 44,000 children in Somalia
NAIROBI, 14 May 2008 - Amid worsening drought conditions, soaring food prices and mass displacement of people due to conflict, UNICEF has started...
Malnutrition at emergency levels in Pinga Health Zone, North Kivu, DRC; UNICEF and partners set up emergency nutritional response
GOMA, 7 May 2008 - Malnutrition rates are at emergency levels in the Pinga health zone in northwestern Masisi Territory, North Kivu, DRC due...
UNICEF and partners launch Girls’ Education Initiative in Nigeria
BAUCHI /NIGERIA, 28 March 2008 - In a concerted effort to address gender disparity in girls’ education in northern Nigeria, UNICEF and partners today launched...
UNICEF, V-Day put rape in Democratic Republic of the Congo front and center
NEW ORLEANS, 12 April 2008 - UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman and playwright and V-Day founder Eve Ensler today announced a partnership focused on ending rape o....
UNICEF launches State of the World’s Children 2008 in Guinea Bissau
BISSAU, 1 April 2008 – The Portuguese version of UNICEF’s annual flagship report The State of the World’s Children 2008: Child SurvivaL...
The Government of Japan donates US$4 million to support the rehabilitation of schools and health centres in the Republic of the Congo
BRAZZAVILLE, 24 March 2008 - The Government of Japan has announced a grant of more than US$4 million, or 1.8 billion francs CFA, via UNICEF...
Statement by the Office of Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan on Attacks Against Humanitarian Actors
Khartoum, 26 March 2008 - The humanitarian community in Sudan is raising its voice today against intolerable attacks that are putting the humanitarian...
10,000 health workers stop polio in one of most dangerous places on earth
GENEVA, 25 March 2008 – Somalia is again polio-free, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) announced today, calling it a 'historic achievement...
Adequate sanitation: The key to curbing cholera
SOMALIA, 20 March 2008 - On the occasion of International Water Day, UNICEF Representative Christian Balslev-Olesen, took the time to highlight...
UNICEF Executive Director, Ann M. Veneman concludes visit to Liberia announcing more than $19 million in assistance
MONROVIA, 27 February 2008 - UNICEF Executive Director, Ann M. Veneman, concluded her three day visit to Liberia announcing more than $19 million....
UNICEF Executive Director first UN agency head to visit Sierra Leone since the September 2007 elections
FREETOWN, 29 February 2008 - UNICEF Executive Director, Ann M. Veneman today participated in President Ernest Bai Koroma’s launch of...
The hopes of Kenya’s children hanging in the balance
NAIROBI, 25 January 2008 - The hopes of hundreds of thousands of Kenyan children and their families hang in the balance as the two leaders in...
As violence ebbs, UNICEF joins other agencies in providing aid for up to 100,000 people in Kenya
NAIROBI, 9 January 2008 - As the unrest that rocked Kenya quells, UNICEF and other agencies are rushing to provide aid for up to 100,000 people...
Massive displacement in North Kivu following attack near IDP camps
GOMA, 13 November 2007 – An attack by unidentified troops today in North Kivu has caused panic resulting in some 45,000 displaced persons fleeing...
Cholera in Goma IDP camps in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
GOMA, 12 November 2007 - According to health workers 439 cases of cholera were suspected at the end of October in five IDP camps west of Goma...
Measles campaign a success in Zambia
LUSAKA, 31 October 2007 - More than 2.1 million children, aged nine months to five years were immunized against measles during a week long integrated...
Zimbabwe’s HIV infection rate continues to fall
HARARE, 31October 2007 – New data shows that Zimbabwe’s HIV rate continues to drop, giving it one of the most significant and rapid declines of any country in the world.
UNICEF and Confederation of African Football promote education at African Cup of Nations
ACCRA, 19 October 2007 – UNICEF and the Confederation of African Football will use the power of football during the upcoming African Cup of Nations...
UNICEF South Africa unveils a three year partnership with Soccerex
JOHANNESBURG, 20 September 2007 - UNICEF South Africa and Soccerex, the premier business convention for football worldwide...
International Peace Day commemorated in DRC with mass child survival campign
KINSHASA, 21 September 2007 - UNICEF and partners commemorated the International Peace Day in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by launching...
Heavy flooding affects West Africa
NEW YORK, 21 September 2007 - The exceptionally heavy seasonal rains have displaced large populations in the West and Central African regions.
On visit to native Benin, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo urges parents to send daughters to school
COTONOU, 13 September 2007 - Full of energy and passion Angélique Kijdo, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, has just finished a visit to her native country of...
UNICEF warns of critical levels of malnutrition amongst Somali children
NAIROBI, 12 September 2007 - Following a recent nutrition survey, UNICEF and its partners estimate that 83,000 children in central and southern Somalia suffer...
60,000 displaced people in Eastern DRC receive UNICEF assistance
KINSHASA, 11 September 2007 - Fighting in North Kivu is threatening the lives of children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Tens of thousands of children have been displaced in the last...
V-DAY, UNICEF call for end to rape, sexual torture against girls in eastern DRC
NEW YORK, 6 August 2007 - Highlighting the issue of violence against women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), renowned playwright Eve Ensler has chronicled her first-hand encounters with women in eastern DRC, where sexual violence has become a routine weapon of war.
Far too many children still at risk of malnutrition in Niger
NIAMEY, 31 July 2007 – On the onset of the lean season, when communities are most vulnerable, still too many children are at risk of malnutrition.
UNICEF provides water quality testing equipment to the Liberian government
MONROVIA, Liberia, 23 July 2007– UNICEF today provided the Ministry of Lands, Mines, and Energy, Water Quality Testing Laboratory equipment and reagents for use at the Liberian Hydrological Service in Monrovia.
Water and sanitation to be provided to thousands of displaced children in Eastern Chad
TOKYO, 20 July 2007 - Some 30,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Eastern Chad, including 18,000 children, will have better access to clean water and sanitation as a result of emergency funding of $1.18 million from the Government of Japan to build new boreholes and communal latrines.
UNICEF Hands Over Anti-Malaria Drugs to the Government of Liberia
MONROVIA, Liberia 29 June 2007 — UNICEF, along with the French Embassy in Liberia, has donated a consignment of anti-malaria drugs to the Government of Liberia. This shipment represents a total of 678,858 treatments at a total cost of $389,000.
UNICEF applauds verdict passed by the Special Court for Sierra Leone
FREETOWN/SIERRA LEONE, 20 June 2007 – Today marks a major milestone in the annals of Sierra Leone as the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) handed down the first...
Education offers ‘window of hope’ for AIDS-affected children
NEW YORK, 18 June 2007 – Sub-Saharan Africa, which continues to be ravaged by HIV and AIDS, has been making education a priority in the response to the epidemic.
Central African Republic signed child soldiers reintegration agreement
GORDIL/CAR, 16 June 2007 – UNICEF, the Government of Central African Republic (CAR) and the Assembly of the Union of Democratic Forces (UFDR) rebel group have today...
Sierra Leone Approves the National Child Rights Bill
FREETOWN/ SIERRA LEONE, 7 June 2007 - The approval of the National Child Rights Bill by the Sierra Leone Parliament on Thursday 7 June is huge step forward for children’s rights.
European Commission and UNICEF agreed to support Ghana’s effort to eradicate Guinea Worm with a €20 million project
GHANA, 29 May 2007 - The European Commission (EC) and UNICEF today announced a total of € 20 million euro assistance for guinea worm eradication in nine...
UNICEF has begun negotiations for the release of child soilders in North-Eastern CAR
BANGUI, 18 May 2007 – UNICEF announced on Thursday that negotiations have started with non-state armed groups for hundreds of child soldiers enrolled in the north-east of the Central...
UNICEF and Chad sign agreement to demobilize child soldiers
N’Djamena, Chad, 9 May 2007 – UNICEF and the Government of Chad signed an agreement today for the demobilization of child soldiers throughout the country. The accord, signed by UNICEF Representative...
Scaling up Child Survival in Sierra Leone
FREETOWN/SIERRA LEONE, 16 April 2007 - The Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, WHO, UNICEF and other partners are launching a week long Integrated Child Survival Campaign on Maternal and...
UNICEF mounts an emergency response in Birao following the humanitarian coordination appeal
BANGUI, 21 March 2007 – A major humanitarian crisis in the northeast of the Central African Republic (CAR) is prompting UNICEF to launch an emergency response to provide immediate...
Jimmy Carter calls for urgency in fight against Guinea worm in West Africa
Tamale, GHANA , 4 February 2004 – Today 650 kilometres north of Ghana's capital city, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and senior officials from The Carter Center, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF made a historic visit to the endemic Guinea worm village of Dashie to urge Ghana to finish the eradication of Guinea worm disease.
Jimmy Carter escalates efforts against Guinea worm in Togo
NEW YORK, 26 January 2004 - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and his wife, Rosalynn, will travel on behalf of The Carter Center to West Africa Feb. 2-6, 2004, to call international attention to the need to eliminate the last 1 percent of Guinea worm disease remaining in the world. The Carter Center team will visit Togo and Mali and be joined in Ghana by World Health Organization Director-General Dr. LEE Jong-wook and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Kul Gautam. The Carter Center, UNICEF, and WHO are lead partners in a worldwide coalition that has helped countries reduce incidences of the disease by 99 percent, from 3.5 million in 1986 to approximately 35,000 today. Ghana Minister of Health Dr. Kweku Afriyie will host and guide the visiting delegations during a tour of villages with Guinea worm disease.
“Broken Dreams”: Film director Idrissa Ouédraogo supports birth registration campaign in West and Central Africa
OUAGADOUGOU/DAKAR, 28 February 2007 - A new film promoting birth registration debuted in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso this week as part of FESPACO...
Musicians campaign for a clean Ghana
ACCRA, 1 March 2007 – During a recent three-day trip to the Northern Region of Ghana, renowned musical artistes Rocky Dawuni, Samini (formerly Batman) and a host of other...
Liberia: Visit of the Executive Boards of UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA and WFP
MONROVIA, 23 February 2007 - The Executive Boards of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population...
UNICEF and Mia Farrow call for security and expanded humanitarian action for Sudanese refugees and displaced Chadians in eastern Chad
N’DJAMENA/CHAD, 23 February 2007 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow accompanied by UNICEF Chad Representative, Stephen Adkisson, concluded her trip in eastern Chad to camps of Sudanese refugees and...
New tools move polio eradication drive into final phase
NEW YORK, 12 October 2005 - Strong advances in the remaining polio endemic areas and the recent introduction of new tools have moved the global polio eradication effort into its final phase in all but one country of the world. The conclusion reached this week in Geneva by the Advisory Committee on Polio Eradication (ACPE), the independent, technical oversight body of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, is that polio could be finished within the next six months everywhere, except in Nigeria.
Religious and traditional leaders from across Africa rally for child survival
DAKAR, 18 October 2004 – Religious and traditional leaders and senior media representatives from across the continent are gathering here this week to explore how their unique influence in hard-to-reach communities can boost immunization rates and support child survival efforts in Africa, where two-thirds of child deaths are entirely preventable.
UNICEF and Mia Farrow draw attention to critical needs of children in looming humanitarian crisis in Central African Republic
BANGUI/DAKAR, 19 February 2007 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow and UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Esther Guluma, concluded a trip...
Presidential Medal of Honour awarded to Mia Farrow during mission to Central African Republic
BANGUI, 13 February 2007 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow was today decorated by Central African Republic President, His Excellency Francois Boizize, with...
Partners meet to discuss education and national reconstruction in Liberia
NEW YORK, 12 February 2007 – Representatives from major bilateral foundations, civil society groups and other education partners will meet in New York this week to...
UNICEF: Interviews available on occasion of Liberia Partners’ Forum
12 February 2007 - Media Advisory
Fight against Malaria - A priority in Guinea-Bissau
BISSAU, 27 November 2006 -The first nationwide campaign of Impregnated Mosquito Net distribution and net impregnation is being conducted free of charge by the Government of Guinea-Bissau with the support of its main partners, including UNICEF.
Serena Williams joins the fight against malaria in Ghana
ACCRA, 6 November 2006 – On her first trip to Africa, tennis great Serena Williams called on all children and pregnant women in Ghana to protect themselves from the killer disease malaria by consistently sleeping under bed nets.
Ghana’s bid to save 20,000 young lives
ACCRA, 1 November 2006 – In an unprecedented attempt to save the lives of 20,000 infants and children in the coming year, Ghana today began nationwide distribution of 2.1 million long-lasting bed nets as part of a massive integrated child health campaign.
Pediatric treatment against AIDS launched in Guinea-Bissau
BISSAU, 25 October 2006 - One year after the Unite for Children. Unite against AIDS Campaign, Guinea-Bissau, today launched a pediatric treatment effort against AIDS to ensure that the needs of infected and affected children are met.
UNICEF backs the re-commencement of DDRR in Liberia
GENEVA/ MONROVIA, 16 April 2004 – With the re-commencement of the disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation, and reintegration (DDRR) of fighters of Liberia’s warring factions on15 April 2004, UNICEF is mobilizing resources to provide immediate care and reintegration support to the estimated 15,000 children who will come through the demobilization process.
UNICEF welcomes special court ruling establishing child recruitment a 'war crime'
NEW YORK/FREETOWN, 17 June 2004 – The Special Court for Sierra Leone recently ruled that the recruitment or use of children under age 15 in hostilities is a war crime under customary international law. This landmark ruling may result in the first ever conviction for the recruitment of child soldiers. UNICEF welcomes the Court’s decision as a bold effort to hold perpetrators accountable for serious crimes against children.
UNICEF to Security Council: Children should not fight wars
NEW YORK, 20 January 2004—Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF today condemned the appalling violations of the rights of children in times of war. Addressing the annual Security Council meeting on children in armed conflict, she called on Council members to work harder to end the use of child soldiers, the killing and maiming of children, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and sexual violence against boys and girls.
UN calls for cessation of hostilities and protection of children in Liberia
DAKAR, MONROVIA, Tuesday, 22 July 2003. "We urgently appeal to the leaders of all parties involved in the conflict in Liberia to stop all hostilities immediately. We are deeply concerned by the dramatic deterioration of the situation in Monrovia and by the unacceptable mobilisation of children and women, in violation of all agreed international norms and standards. Some of the actions against children and women constitute crimes of war under the Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Bellamy lands in Liberia for a three-day visit
MONROVIA, 23 August 2004 - UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy landed in Liberia today for a three-day visit to assess progress in reintegrating children formerly associated with fighting forces with their families.
Reintegrating children associated with fighting forces in Liberia a "success"
MONROVIA/NEW YORK/GENEVA, 26 August 2004 – Just four months after the launch of a massive disarmament campaign, almost 85 per cent of about 5,800 demobilized children have gone home to their families. Over 115 children were reunified this week.
The promise of Liberia's back-to-school effort
MONROVIA/NEW YORK/GENEVA, 26 September 2003 - UNICEF today urged the war-weary people of Liberia to fully support the campaign to return Liberian children to school.
George Weah in New York, directly from Liberia trip
NEW YORK, 4 January 2004 - George Weah , UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and international soccer star, is in New York, and is available for interviews, along with UNICEF’s top officials for Liberia.
More than 500,000 Liberian children targeted in vitamin A and deworming campaign
MONROVIA/LIBERIA, 4 September 2006 – The Government of Liberia and UNICEF have launched a five-day campaign to administer Vitamin A supplementation and deworming tablets to more than 500,000 children under the age of five.
Japanese support for polio eradication and malaria prevention in Nigeria
ABUJA, 23 August 2005 - The Government of Japan donated US $4.2 million (JPY 495 million) to UNICEF today to support polio immunization and malaria prevention in Nigeria. The country accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the world’s polio cases and 400,000 Nigerian children die each year as a result of malaria, the leading killer of children in Afica. Around 20 per cent of children die before their fifth birthday.
The 2006 ‘All girls to school’ campaign launched in Benin
COTONOU, 15 June, 2006 – Two Ministers, Agnes Van Ardenne, the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation, and Colette Houeto, Beninese Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, got on the back of a ‘zemidjan’, sporting the yellow shirt of the notorious taxi-motorcycles of Cotonou, blazoned with the logo of the campaign ‘Toutes les filles à l’école’, or ‘All girls to school’.
Campaigning for child nutrition in the Sahel region
NIAMEY, 8 August 2006 – One year after the mobilization of the international community in support of Niger’s food and nutritional crisis, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Esther Guluma, is calling for vigilance towards the nutritional vulnerability of children in the Sahel region. Guluma is addressing the international community to campaign for child nutrition in the Sahel.
UNICEF and Ministry of Health and Social Welfare working to expand reach of vaccination coverage
MONROVIA, 27 July 2006 – In partnership with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, UNICEF has turned over new four-wheel drive vehicles, motorcycles, and computers to the Government of Liberia. The supplies will be used to support the Ministry’s Expanded Programme of Immunization and Environmental Health Sections as well as all 15 of Liberia’s County Health Teams.
UNICEF and Ministry of Education provide 10,000 school benches to Liberian schools
MONROVIA, 17 July 2006 – In partnership with the Ministry of Education, UNICEF is constructing 10,000 three-seat benches for distribution to 100 government schools in five counties. A combined total of 30,000 students in Bong, Grand Gedeh, Lofa, Montserrado and Nimba Counties will benefit from this donation.
Cameroon launches community programme for home-based care of families affected by HIV/AIDS
YAOUNDE, 2 June 2006 – Cameroonian Professor Dominique Obounou Akong, the Representative of the Minister of Public Health, presided over the launch of a community programme for home-based care of families affected by HIV/AIDS at the Chantal Biya’s Foundation’s headquarters in Yaounde. Among the two hundred people attending the ceremony were representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, community volunteers and officials from the Ministry of Public Health as well as Chantal Biya’s Foundation.
UNOPS and UNICEF rebuild schools in four counties
MONROVIA, 17 May 2006 – UNICEF and its partner, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), have completed the rehabilitation and refurbishment of 13 government schools in four Liberian counties.
Liberia to Launch Girls’ Education National Policy
MONROVIA, 17 April 2006 – The Government of Liberia will launch its National Girls’ Education Policy tomorrow. The policy calls for a collective effort to reach Millennium Development Goal 2: universal primary education for every Liberian child.
UNOPS & UNICEF rebuild schools in four counties
MONROVIA, Liberia, 17 May 2006 – UNICEF and its partner, UNOPS, the United Nations Office for Project Services, have completed the rehabilitation and refurbishment of 13 government schools in four Liberian counties.
UNICEF Warns Malnutrition on Rise for Niger’s Children
NIAMEY, May 12 2006 - Several reports reveal that the number of malnourished children arriving at UNICEF-supported nutritional rehabilitation centres is increasing. Between 1 January and 4 May 2006, 64,593 malnourished children have been admitted in the nutritional rehabilitation programmes, of which 53,931 were suffering from moderate acute malnutrition and 10,662 from severe acute malnutrition.
Official Statement on the Attack on Staff Member
NEW YORK, 8 May 2006 — UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman today issued the following statement in reaction to an attack Friday on a UNICEF staff member in Chad during an attempted vehicle theft:
Dakar, April 13 - The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) Regional Network for West & Central Africa was launched today in Dakar, Senegal by a wide partnership of UN agencies, national and local governments and non-governmental organizations. UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Yvonne Chaka- Chaka, participated in the launch of the network. “The challenges we face in terms of access to education for girls in this region are enormous, but they are achievable when we join all our efforts,” she said at the launch.
UN Girls' Education Initiative launch in Dakar
DAKAR, 11 April 2006 - The complexity of the issues preventing girls from accessing school requires a diverse group of partners to address them with the goal of moving girls’ education forward, at every level and in every setting. The United Nations family is launching the United Nations Girls' Education Iniative and participants are meeting to kick off the new partnership.
Polio experts warn of largest epidemic in recent years, as polio hits Darfur
GENEVA, 22 June 2004 - Epidemiologists of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative today issued a stark warning that west and central Africa is on the brink of the largest polio epidemic in recent years. The warning follows confirmation today that a child was paralyzed on 20 May by polio in the Darfur region of the Sudan, a country which had not seen the disease in more than three years. The virus is closely linked genetically to poliovirus endemic to northern Nigeria, which has spread through Chad in recent months.
Criminal charge in child soldier case a milestone in protecting children
Friday’s arrest of Thomas Lubanga by the International Criminal Court, on a charge of conscripting and enlisting children and actively using them in hostilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, sends an important message that the international community will not tolerate the use of children in armed conflict, UNICEF said. It shows the high priority that the international community gives to combating crimes against children.
Japan Provides $6.78 Million to Liberia’s Children
MONROVIA, Liberia, 1 March 2006 - The Government of Japan has contributed US$6.78 million to UNICEF to help provide more than 5,000 demobilized children associated with fighting forces with a basic primary school education or vocational skills training. The funding will also be used by UNICEF and its partners to provide 300 Liberian schools and 50 health centres with new water and environmental sanitation services.
Government of Japan provides US$2.256 million to Liberia’s children
MONROVIA, Liberia, 12 January 2006 -- The Government of Japan has contributed US$2.256 million to UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, to protect Liberian children from infectious diseases, including malaria and acute respiratory infections.
Niger: More than 300,000 children saved from malnutrition in 2005, but work is far from over
NIAMEY, NIGER, 21 December 2005 - A recent survey conducted by the government of Niger, the Centres for Disease Control in Atlanta and UNICEF confirms that the children of Niger still face high levels of malnutrition.
African Parliamentarians Convene for Historic Conference on Ending Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
DAKAR, SENEGAL, 4 December 2005 – Parliamentarians from across Africa have convened in Dakar, Senegal for a landmark conference to learn about female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and discuss what they can do to help end the dangerous and violent practice.
Benin Measles Campaign Marks Culmination and Success of Measles Initiative Five-Year Goal
WASHINGTON, December 12, 2005 — The Benin campaign will mark the culmination and success of the Measles Initiative’s original goal of reducing measles deaths by vaccinating 200 million children in more than 40 countries, and preventing 1 million children from dying from measles over five years.
Children’s Rights Not Respected in Cote D’Ivoire’s Ongoing Military and Political Crisis
ABIDJAN, Cote D’Ivoire, 21 November 2005 – As the world celebrates the anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF is calling attention to the plight of the children in Cote D’Ivoire and the continued widespread violation of their rights as a result of the ongoing three-year-long conflict.
Massive international effort stops polio epidemic across 10 west and central African countries
Geneva/New York/Atlanta/Evanston, 11 November 2005 - Public health experts have confirmed that a polio epidemic in ten countries in west and central Africa - Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali and Togo - has been successfully stopped. The epidemic has paralysed nearly 200 children for life since mid-2003, but no new cases have been reported in these countries since early June. At the same time, polio eradication efforts are intensifying in Nigeria, where extensive disease transmission continues, as part of a mass polio campaign across 28 African countries beginning today.
Despite high knowledge levels about HIV/AIDS, Liberian youth still at risk
Monrovia, LIBERIA, 25 October 2005 - In a new finding, a UNICEF Liberia-commissioned study says many young Liberians have a high-level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and its transmission but continue to engage in risky behaviour. The study also reveals that many young people harbor high levels of misconception and stigma towards people living with the virus.
UNICEF Offers Sympathies After Death of First Lady of Nigeria
NEW YORK, 24 October 2005 - UNICEF expressed deep regret today at the passing of Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, the First Lady of Nigeria, who died on Sunday after undergoing surgery.
UNICEF-supported school launches feeding programme in Nigeria
ABUJA, 27 September 2005 -- As the new school year starts in Nigeria, the Ministry of Education chose a UNICEF-supported school to launch a major national programme, aimed at providing one meal per day to all pupils during schools days. The President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, kicked off the Home-grown School Feeding and Health Programme, at Science Primary School Kuje, near Abuja, on Monday 26 September, 2005.
Children, the Focus for Islamic Solidarity
A new report says action is urgently needed to tackle a range of problems facing over 600 million children in the Islamic world, from poverty and disease to education and protection.
32,000 children in Niger face ‘mortal threat’
Niamey/Geneva/New York – 29 July 2005 – UNICEF has issued an additional emergency appeal for US$14.6 million to care for 32,000 children suffering from severe under-nutrition and 160,000 children suffering from moderate under-nutrition in Niger and to help stop a deadly cycle of starvation.
UNICEF trains 85 health workers to treat under-nutrition in Niger
MARADI, NIGER/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 2 August 2005 - UNICEF Niger and the Ministry of Public Health of Niger are now conducting a second round of capacity-building training of national health workers in Niger in the management of severe and moderate under-nutrition of children.
French government donates life-saving supplies to UNICEF Niger
NIGER, 30 July 2005 - The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Philippe Douste-Blazy, arrived in Niamey, Niger this morning, accompanying an air-transport of 1.7 tons of essential drugs, including antibiotics, anti-malarials and de-worming tablets, as well as special oral re-hydration salts for the treatment of diarrhea in severely malnourished children. An estimated 160,000 children in Niger are suffering from moderate under-nutrition & another 32,000 children are suffering from severe under-nutrition.
Niger food crisis increases child deaths
NIAMEY/GENEVA - 12 July 2005 - Acute malnutrition rates have risen to 13.4 per cent in southern Niger Maradi and Zinder Regions, with 2.5 per cent of this group identified as severely malnourished children under age five, says UNICEF quoting recent nutrition surveys by the UN and several NGOs.
Millions of orphans in Nigeria need care and access to basic services
Abuja, 15 June 2005. “African Orphans: our collective responsibility”: the theme for this year’s commemoration of the Day of the African Child on June 16 is drawing attention to the tragic situation of millions of orphans throughout the continent. According to a recent study published by UNICEF in 2004, “Children on the Brink”, there were 43 million orphans in Sub-Saharan African in 2003, an increase of more than one-third since 1990.
On the Day of the African Child: Africa’s chronic emergencies struggling for attention
NEW YORK, 14 June 2005- Midway through the year some of Africa’s most intractable emergencies are seriously under funded. Only two out of ten countries with recurring emergencies are on track to reach UNICEF funding targets, but most will barely make it half way.
UNICEF responds to food crisis in Niger
NIAMEY, 13 June 2005 - UNICEF announced today that it is providing US$222,000 (116 million francs CFA) worth of therapeutic food and growth monitoring equipment to the Nigerien Government to strengthen efforts by the Government and other partners involved in managing the food and nutrition crisis affecting the most vulnerable groups in Niger -- particularly children.
Benin and Nigeria pledge to fight child trafficking
Cotonou / Abuja, June 9, 2005 - UNICEF congratulates the Governments of the Republic of Benin and the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the signing today, in Cotonou, of a "Cooperation agreement to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons with emphasis on trafficking in women and children.”
Nigeria’s Children’s Day: UNICEF calls for accelerating progress on girls’ education
ABUJA, 27 May 2005. Today millions of children across the nation are celebrating Nigeria’s Children’s Day on the theme: “Educate the girl child, educate the nation”. UNICEF welcomes the choice of this theme and joins all Nigerian children in calling on policy makers, local authorities, religious and traditional leaders, school authorities, the media and all Nigerian parents to accelerate progress on educating girls.
Integrated approach to child survival achieving important results
GENEVA, 16 May 2005 – An integrated approach to child survival designed to deliver a package of lifesaving health services for children in hard to reach communities has shown remarkable results, UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman announced today at the World Health Assembly.
Nigeria making Progress towards polio eradication goal
ABUJA, 11 May 2005 – As Nigeria launches the third round of National Immunization Campaigns in 2005, a recent expert review of Nigeria’s polio eradication programme reaffirmed that the country is making strong progress towards the end-2005 goal of stopping polio.
Africa responds to close down polio epidemic
DAKAR/NAIROBI/HARARE, 13 May 2005 – Africa is responding aggressively to close down a polio epidemic that has spread the virus as far as Indonesia in recent weeks. Countries across the west and central belt and the Horn of Africa are participating in the third in a series of pan-continental immunization drives this year to immunize all children against the virus.
UNICEF alarmed by cholera outbreak in Sao Tome
LIBREVILLE/AGUA GRANDE DISTRICT/SAO TOME e PRINCIPE/GENEVA, 10 May 2005 - In response to an outbreak of cholera, UNICEF has rushed medical supplies to Sao Tome, where nearly 80 per cent of the island’s total population is at risk to the deadly disease.
UNICEF alarmed by cholera outbreak in Sao Tome
LIBREVILLE/AGUA GRANDE DISTRICT/GENEVA, 10 May 2005 - In response to an outbreak of cholera, UNICEF has rushed medical supplies to Sao Tome, where nearly 80 per cent of the island’s total population is at risk to the deadly disease.
First global report on efforts to roll back malaria highlights progress and challenges
CAIRO/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 3 May 2005 – More people are accessing prevention and treatment services for malaria, sparking hope that the number of people who become sick and die from malaria will begin to decline.
Niger food shortages threatening Children, UNICEF calls for urgent funding
GENEVA/NIAMEY, 22 April 2005 – UNICEF today called for urgent funding to feed 800,000 children between under five years of age caught in the throes of a food crisis due to an ongoing plague of locusts and insufficient rainfall.
Partnership gains ground in the fight against malaria
GENEVA/ LUSAKA / BRUSELS / WASHINGTON DC, 21 April 2005— A single word has become the touchstone for hopes that a successful battle can be waged against malaria in Africa: partnership. At a time when funding to fight malaria is still sorely lacking, a kaleidoscope of organizations, governments, businesses and celebrities in Africa, Europe, North America and Asia, united under the banner of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, have made unprecedented gains over the past year.
UN mourns loss of Social Mobilisation activists in Uige
LUANDA, 15 April 2005 – The UN expresses deep sorrow at the deaths of the young social mobilisation volunteers hit by a lightning yesterday in the province of Uige while providing much needed information and advice on the Marburg virus to the population at risk.
Stakes remain high in drive to wipe out polio in Africa
DAKAR/NAIROBI, 8 April 2005 – With the polio virus’ high-transmission season just months away, African countries are redoubling their efforts this week to reach 100 million children in the second of a series of three immunization drives scheduled for 2005. This second round, from 9-12 April, aims to contain the epidemic before the virus begins to spread most rapidly in the July to September high season.
UNICEF, CONADER and partners disarm 2,914 children in DRC
BUNIA, ITURI DRC, 4 April 2005 - UNICEF today confirmed that 2,914 children associated with armed groups have passed through the seven Disarmament and Community Reintegration (DCR) sites in Ituri District since September 2004, in addition to the 399 children (337 boys; 62 girls), received by child protection agencies in Ituri District prior to the 1 September 2004 start of the DCR process. The Congolese government body, CONADER (Commission Nationale de la Demobilization et Reinsertion), coordinates the disarmament process.
UNICEF and partners intensify fight against cholera in DRC
BUNIA, Ituri District, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1 April 2005 – UNICEF is intensifying its emergency activities in collaboration with partners to fight a deadly cholera outbreak at the Kafe internally displaced persons (IDP) site in Ituri District, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as at the Tche and Tchomia IDP sites.
Dakar rocks to roll back malaria
DAKAR, SENEGAL, 10 March 2005 – Excitement—and commitments—mounted today in Dakar in the run-up to AFRICA LIVE: The Roll Back Malaria Concert, the star-studded, two-day music event taking place on March 12 and 13 in the Senegalese capital that will reach a billion people worldwide.
Measles deaths drop by nearly 40 per cent over five years
GENEVA/NEW YORK, 4 March 2005 - The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today announced that countries are on target to halve deaths from measles, a leading vaccine-preventable killer, by the end of the year. Global measles deaths have plummeted by 39%, from 873 000 in 1999 to an estimated 530 000 in 2003 .
Clashes reignite disaster for children in Democratic Republic of Congo
LONDON/GENEVA, 4 March 2005 - UNICEF said today that renewed fighting in the eastern DRC has cut vital aid to tens of thousands of civilians who had been earlier displaced by fighting.
UNICEF calls for action on Congo terror
GENEVA/NEW YORK, 15 February 2005 - UNICEF says that the number of civilians uprooted by fighting in Ituri district, Eastern Congo since the beginning of this year has risen dramatically over the past week.
African health leaders vow to keep polio eradication goal
GENEVA, 13 January 2005 — Following a year in which Africa grappled with an escalating polio epidemic, ministers of health of the key affected countries today concluded that the spread of polio was slowing in most countries.
Cote D’Ivoire gets emergency measles vaccination over Christmas
ABIDJAN, 23 December 2004 – A measles vaccination campaign for some 20,000 children in the central Ivorian sub-prefecture of Prikro kicked off today and will continue through 26 December.
Nigeria to lead the way in girls' education
Abuja/New York, 8 December 2004 – One of the world’s largest girls’ education projects will be launched tomorrow in Nigeria, supported by a $50 million grant from the UK Government.
Africa stakes the end of polio on mass immunization drive, but conflict halts campaign In Cote d’Ivoire
DAKAR/HARARE, 18 November 2004 - At a crucial stage of the global polio eradication effort, the second round in a series of massive cross-border polio immunizations starts this week in 24 African countries.
Fighting back against polio in Nigeria
ABUJA, November 16 2004 - Every child must be reached during the upcoming National Immunization Day (NID) in Nigeria which kicks off on 20 November.
Child survival threatened by instability in Cote d’Ivoire
DAKAR - 11 November, 2004 - As civil unrest continues to engulf Cote D’Ivoire, UNICEF again calls on all parties to the conflict to ensure basic services and humanitarian access throughout the country. Water and electricity to large parts of the north have been cut for over a week.
Children’s rights threatened in Cote d’Ivoire violence
Children's rights threatened in Cote d'Ivoire violence
DAKAR, 12 November 2004 - UNICEF concerned about reports that children have been involved in recent street violence in Abidjan and elsewhere in Cote d’Ivoire.
Child sex tourism and exploitation increasing in The Gambia
BANJUL, 5 May 2004 - A report released today by the Government of The Gambia and UNICEF reveals that sexual abuse and exploitation of children is on the rise in the tiny West African nation that is a favorite destination for tourists from several European countries.
A pinch of salt can go further In West Africa
DAKAR, 19 October 2004 – Some 30 per cent of West African children are still missing out on the enormous benefits of iodized household salt, UNICEF announced today at a meeting of West African leaders and health and industry officials.
Call for increased production of long lasting insecticidal nets for malaria control
JOHANNESBURG, 23 Sept 2004 – In an effort to narrow the gap between supply and demand of long lasting insecticidal nets, agencies working in malaria control are today meeting with the private sector in Johannesburg, South Africa to discuss accelerated production and distribution.
Africa fighting back against “hidden hunger” in children
JOHANNESBURG, 7 October 2004 – A report released today says that Africa is fighting back against vitamin and mineral deficiencies, saving millions of women and children from death and debilitation through simple, cost effective strategies such as fortifying staple foods. But millions of children can still be helped if current strategies and partnerships are extended to reach every country and every child.
African Union leaders launch largest-ever, cross-border polio campaign in history
DAKAR, GENEVA, NEW YORK, 2 October 2004 – More than 80 million children will be immunized against polio in 23 countries across sub-Saharan Africa (22 countries in West & Central Africa, plus Sudan), as part of the single-largest, public health campaign in history.
UNICEF rolls out Child-to-Child Survey to get all children in school
ADDIS ABABA, 15 June 2004 – In honour of the Day of the African Child, UNICEF officially launched a child-powered, global project to account for children not in school in order to accelerate the enrolment of all girls as well as all boys.
Thanks to FIFA, football is more than just a game
PARIS/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 20 May 2004 - On the 100th anniversary of FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, UNICEF congratulated the organization for harnessing the power of soccer to improve the lives of the world’s neediest children.
Asian and North African countries close to ending polio, announce accelerated plans to 'mop-up' new cases
GENEVA/NEW YORK, 17 May 2004 - Asian and North African countries could be polio-free within months, while west and central African countries must change track to stop the virus, according to data presented in Geneva today by Health Ministers from the world's six remaining polio-endemic countries. The ministers announced a two-pronged strategy to further accelerate eradication activities in both areas.
Years of fighting, day of fun
MONROVIA, 23 April 2004 – Less than a week after turning over their weapons to UN peacekeepers, hundreds of boys in a remote Liberian town declared today they would not wage war anymore, then lined up to shake hands and talk with their idol, global football star and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador George Weah.
Human trafficking, including children, affects nearly all African countries
COTONOU, BENIN 23 April 2004 – Trafficking of human beings affects every country in Africa for which data is available, either as countries of origin or destination, according to a report issued today by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in Florence.
On Africa Malaria Day, UNICEF calls for increased availability of new drugs at affordable price
NEW YORK/GENEVA, 22 April 2004 -- Using its global supply network to play a lead role in the global fight to reduce malaria deaths, UNICEF today called on pharmaceutical firms and donor countries to get behind an initiative to introduce a life-saving new drug to hundreds of millions of people affected by the disease each year.
Statement from UNICEF on new polio case in Côte d' Ivoire
GENEVA/NEW YORK, 25 February 2004 - Côte d’Ivoire, polio-free for the last four years, has reported a polio case - and investigations are ongoing to confirm that the virus was imported from Nigeria. If confirmed, Côte d’Ivoire will be the eighth African country to report a child infected by Nigerian polio. This is further proof of the unnecessary suffering caused by the ongoing suspension of polio immunization activities in the Nigerian state of Kano. Children living in Kano State have been denied the polio vaccine since August 2003, creating an open channel for polio to spread back into the rest of Nigeria and across west and central Africa.
Belafonte urges West Africa to redouble birth registration efforts
DAKAR, 23 February, 2004 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Harry Belafonte today appealed to African countries to redouble their efforts at registering births, calling birth registration a fundamental human right. Fifty million births went unregistered globally in 2000 (out of 130 million). In sub-Saharan Africa, 70 per cent of births - 17 million children - went unregistered.
West Africa mobilizes for final assault against polio
DAKAR / NEW YORK / GENEVA, 23 February 2004 - One month after an emergency meeting of Health Ministers committed to end polio transmission in 2004, Africa is responding with a massive, synchronized polio immunization campaign, aiming to vaccinate 63 million children over the next few days.
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Harry Belafonte to visit Kenya and Senegal
MEDIA ADVISORY, 12 February 2004 - In Kenya, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Harry Belafonte will assess progress in education one year after the Kenya government eliminated primary school fees. He will visit a Nairobi primary school and meet with government and business leaders to discuss the achievements since school fees were abolished and highlight the challenges that remain, particularly the schooling and care of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and the need to get more girls enrolled in school. On Friday, February 20, Harry will travel to Senegal for a one-week visit during which he will attend a regional conference on birth registration and stress the importance of this issue for protecting the rights of children.
Côte d' Ivoire measles campaign at 1 million children mark
ABIDJAN/GENEVA, 10 February 2004 - The crisis that split Ivory Coast in two in September 2002 has devastated the health care system in the north and west, and disrupted routine vaccinations throughout the country, leading to higher mortality rates among children from treatable diseases, including measles. In response to this threat to children’s lives, UNICEF and its partners are currently completing the third emergency measles vaccination campaign of the past year for children aged 6 months to 14 years. The number of children vaccinated against measles through UNICEF-supported emergency campaigns in Ivory Coast has now reached one million.
Third phase of measles campaign underway in Côte d' Ivoire
COTE D’IVOIRE, 23 January 2004 – UNICEF will launch the third phase of its mass vaccination campaign against measles on 23 January in the northern districts of Odienne, Tengrela, Boundiali, Korhogo and Ferkessedougou, targeting over 450,000 children from 6 months to 14 years of age, adding to the almost 1.5 million children vaccinated last year in the central areas of the country. Simultaneously, vitamin A will be distributed to children under 5 years of age. UNICEF’s aim is to reach and protect these children before the measles season peaks in March.
Ministers of Health: 'We will finish polio before year's end'
GENEVA, 15 January 2004 - Polio should be relegated to the history books within the next twelve months, Ministers of Health from the six remaining polio-endemic countries declared today at a high-level meeting in Geneva. The Ministers unveiled a bold new plan to immunize 250 million children multiple times during a series of massive polio immunization campaigns in 2004.
Guinea: a window on West Africa’s war-weary children
CONAKRY/GENEVA, 4 November 2003 -- UNICEF today said that reports from border monitors and NGOs reveal that Guinea is becoming a burgeoning refuge for thousands of children fleeing West Africa’s wars.
After war, it’s Back-to-School for Liberian children
GENEVA/NEW YORK/MONROVIA, 3 November 2003 - UNICEF today said that it expects hundreds of thousands of children to return to studies during Liberia’s Back-to-School campaign – thousands of them for the first time in their lives.
15 million children to be immunized against polio in Nigeria as disease spreads
NEW YORK/GENEVA, 22 October 2003 - A new polio outbreak spreading from Nigeria to neighbouring countries is putting 15 million children at risk, requiring a massive immunization campaign across five countries in west and central Africa. Beginning today, hundreds of thousands of volunteers and healthworkers in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Togo will aim to reach every child in those countries with polio vaccine in just three days.
UNICEF UK report reveals changing face of child trafficking
LONDON, 30 July 2003 - The face of child trafficking to the UK is changing, with children being transported from an increasing number of countries and traffickers widening their operations with new methods and destinations, said UNICEF UK in a new report published today as part of its End Child Exploitation campaign.
Peace process falters for child soldiers of Sierra Leone
FREETOWN/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 22 July 2003 - UNICEF says that the re-integration into civilian life of former child soldiers in Sierra Leone is under threat by flagging support from international donors.
Kano State rejoins polio eradication campaign
Abuja 20 July 2004 – UNICEF and its partners congratulate the Kano State Government for making a decision in the best interest of Nigerian children. The country is now united in the fight against polio and has the unique opportunity to spare future generations from this crippling disease.
UNICEF to set up Child Friendly Spaces in war-torn Liberia
Monrovia, Abidjan, Geneva, 26 February 2002 - UNICEF, together with its partners, is seeking to ensure that children's rights are protected in the present wave of insecurity in Liberia. It is particularly concerned that children not be drawn once again into an adult conflict - as they have been in the past.
George Weah, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, visits Sierra Leone
FREETOWN, 12 April 2004 – Former International soccer star and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, George Manneh Weah, will be visiting Sierra Leone under the auspices of Kallboxx Production to participate in a number of social and commercial events. UNICEF Sierra Leone and Ambassador George Weah will seize the opportunity to organise a series of social mobilisation activities that will enhance the dissemination of information on HIV/AIDS to adolescents and youths and to give an added thrust to Sierra Leone’s HIV and AIDS prevention programme. Ambassador Weah will be accompanied by equally renowned former international Dutch soccer star, Ruud Gullit and a team of Dutch journalists.
Canada ups ante by $10 million (CAN.) in fight against measles in Africa
NEW YORK, 2 April 2004 - UNICEF today welcomed Canada’s donation of an additional 10.5 million Canadian dollars toward reducing child measles deaths in war-torn countries in Africa. The funds are targeted at the countries where children are at a greater risk of measles because of a mosaic of emergencies including war, conflicts, natural disasters and devastated health care systems. Recipient countries include Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Mali and Niger.
UNICEF to vaccinate 1.4 million children in Liberia for measles
MONROVIA, 17 February 2004— UNICEF today said that it plans to support the vaccination of almost half of Liberia’s population against measles, by inoculating 1.4 million children by the end of this year.
UNICEF starts measles vaccinations in Congo
Geneva, December 17, 2002 - UNICEF today kicked off a major campaign to vaccinate 3.5 million children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo against measles.
WHO/UNICEF respond to yellow fever emergency in Liberia
MONROVIA, 24 February 2004 – International health agencies announced Tuesday that they were joining forces with the Liberian government to combat a yellow fever emergency. The World Health Organization and UNICEF are launching an emergency mass immunization campaign together with Liberia’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
West Africa launches final assault on polio
New York/Geneva, 12 November 2002 -- With West African countries in the midst of vaccinating millions of children against polio, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, Aventis Pasteur, has donated 30 million doses of oral polio vaccine to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Communities roll up their sleeves to roll back malaria
GENEVA/NEW YORK, April 25, 2002 - In celebrating Africa Malaria Day, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization and other Roll Back Malaria partners have commended a new government-led initiative that is providing rapid, appropriate, effective and affordable malaria treatment to poor populations in some African countries.
UNICEF to protect health of Sudanese refugees in Chad
CHAD, 23 January 2004 - In response to the rapidly deteriorating situation of Sudanese refugees in Chad, UNICEF is moving ahead on a series of activities, including a measles campaign for nearly 86,000 children from six months to 14 years old (refugees and host population), as well as a Vitamin A distribution, in coordination with MSF Belgium and MSF Holland.
Over $4 million needed for Sudanese refugees in Chad
CHAD, 13 January 2004 - About 90,00 Sudanese refugees are in Chad along the border with Sudan to escape the fighting in Darfur. Movements along the border began in July 2003 with the highest concentration between the border towns of Adré and Tiné. So far, assistance to refugees has been minimal. The raining season, expected to start in June, will render the whole region almost inaccessible, making a quick humanitarian response necessary. UN agencies will require over US$4 million to meet emergency needs.
Polio in West Africa at crisis point, says Bellamy
ACCRA/NEW YORK/GENEVA, 19 December 2003 – The alarming spread of polio in West Africa is now the biggest threat to global eradication of the disease, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy told leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) today.
Measles vaccination for 3.5 million children in Guinea
CONAKRY, 8 November 2003 - UNICEF Guinea, working in close cooperation with WHO and the Ministry of Health, is launching a nationwide measles vaccination campaign targeting all children in the countryside between the ages of 6 months and 14 years old. The aim of the campaign is to reduce the incidence of death from measles to zero in Guinea. Worldwide, this campaign aims to eliminate measles for good.
Back to school program underway in Liberia to reach 750,000 children
MONROVIA, 23 October 2003 – Distribution of the first batch of 4,662 School-in-the-box kits is set to begin today for 372,960 Liberian children, initially among six counties: Montserrado, Bomi, Bong, Margibi, Grand Bassa and Margibi. The Back to School supplies, valued at US$1.3M, are being transported from the Free Port of Monrovia to Careysburg and Todee children.
Schoolchildren join AIDS campaign in occupied Côte d'Ivoire zone
Abidjan, April 2, 2003 - Nearly two thousand school children turned out in their Sunday best for sing-songs, poetry, stand-up plays and comic relief to launch a major HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in the occupied zone of northern Cote d'Ivoire at the weekend. The 1,850 school children who took part in the opening ceremony at the Chateau d'Ahougnanssou School, Bouake, are the spearhead of the Unicef-assisted campaign that will reach 50,000 learners in the district with life-saving and peer-support messages. (News Note)
UNICEF convoy brings relief to forgotten children in Côte d'Ivoire
ABIJIAN, April 10, 2003 - After seven months of isolation due to fighting, a UNICEF convoy delivered a consignment of medical supplies and relief food for children in the severely-stricken north-eastern district of Bouna, 600 km north-east of Abidjan. (News Note)
Bellamy to African Union: Investing in children must be Africa's first priority
MAPUTO / GENEVA, 8 July 2003 – A day before arriving in Mozambique to attend a summit of African leaders, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said that the only chance for sustaining development and progress in African countries is for their leaders to invest in children – and to do so "early and often."
UNICEF deplores violence against children and women in DRC
Friday, 6 June 2003 – Alarmed by recent reports that thousands of women and girls are being brutally raped, mutilated and killed in the Ituri province of Eastern Congo, UNICEF said today that all actors - political and military – must put an end to such acts. (Press release)
Malaria is alive, well & killing more than 3000 children a day in Africa
Friday, 25 April 2003 -- The Africa Malaria Report, released today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), says the death toll from malaria remains outrageously high - with more than 3000 African children dying daily. It also stresses that new effective anti-malarial drugs are not yet accessible to those who need them and that only a small proportion of children at risk of malaria are protected by highly effective insecticide treated nets. The report, officially launched by President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya in commemoration of Africa Malaria Day, gives a continent-wide picture of the struggle against malaria and highlights the urgent need to make effective anti-malarial treatment available to those most at risk. (Press release)
Eyes on Bunia
BUNIA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, 21 May 2003 - Since Sunday, 11 May when UNICEF and partners began the first airlift of emergency humanitarian aid into Bunia to assist, UNICEF has been moving swiftly to ensure the safety and protection of children.
DRC : UNICEF dispatches essential materials to Bunia to assist victims of renewed fighting
13 May 2003 - UNICEF has sent two plane-loads of relief items from Goma to Bunia in the north east of the Democratic Republic of Congo to assist the victims of the resumed fighting in the area. (News Note)
Airlifts carry humanitarian assistance to Bunia, DRC
16 May 2003 - Since Sunday 11 May 2003, UNICEF has been involved in regular airlifts of essential humanitarian aid to Bunia, as an immediate response to the acute on-going crisis. So far, six flights carrying 8.5 tons of humanitarian assistance have been dispatched from Goma with the assistance of the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO,) MONUC and UNICEF. (News Note)