East Asia and Pacific Region Appeal

One in five of the world's children – 531 million children – lives in East Asia and the Pacific, the world's most disaster-prone region. Home to 44 per cent of weather-related child displacements globally, the region also recorded 5.2 million people displaced by conflict and disasters at the start of 2025 – the highest figure since 2016.

Countries in the region face overlapping crises ranging from cyclones, floods, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, disease outbreaks and conflict. These shocks uproot families, disrupt schooling and strain critical social services, eroding children’s coping capacities and deepening inequalities. 

Climate change and poverty intensify risks and vulnerabilities. Women and girls are more exposed to gender-based violence, exploitation and malnutrition; and 43 million children with disabilities face disproportionate impacts. Vaccine-preventable diseases are on the rise, with polio present in Papua New Guinea and measles outbreaks straining health systems regionwide.

Extreme weather repeatedly batters the region, affecting millions. From mid-2025, successive tropical storms caused severe flooding in China, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam, where back-to-back events compounded displacement and slowed recovery. In Mongolia, droughts and wildfires have heightened dzud risks for the upcoming winter, while Pacific Island communities face growing water scarcity as droughts intensify. 

On the Pacific Ring of Fire, seismic activity is frequent. A September 2025 earthquake in Cebu Province in the Philippines affected 366,000 people. In Vanuatu, recovery continues from a December 2024 earthquake that affected 80,000 people, including 40,000 children. In Myanmar, major earthquakes in March compounded humanitarian needs amid escalating conflict; in 2025, 21.9 million people – including 6.9 million children – required humanitarian assistance in the country. 

In Papua New Guinea, intercommunal violence continues to flare, adding to the 84,000 people already displaced as of January. Border tensions between Cambodia and Thailand disrupted schools and essential services, uprooting more than 340,000 people and putting children under prolonged severe stress.

The UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office supports country offices, governments, civil society and the private sector to strengthen emergency preparedness and child-sensitive responses in line with the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action. 

Regional leadership in horizon scanning, risk modelling and early warning will advance anticipatory action to reduce the impact of crises on children before shocks hit. Child-centred subnational risk assessments, combined with geospatial and real-time monitoring, will support advocacy and planning with local governments and partners to reinforce community readiness and resilience. 

The Regional Office will maintain mechanisms to rapidly deploy funding, technical expertise and pre-positioned supplies to sudden-onset crises and coordinate cross-border responses. Country offices will deliver life-saving assistance in health, nutrition, WASH, education, child protection and cash assistance. UNICEF will work across sectors to support children with disabilities, adolescents and women and girls, and ensure accountability to affected populations, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, mental health and psychosocial support and survivor-centred, gender-based violence services. 

The East Asia and Pacific Regional Office will provide technical expertise to support national stakeholders to effectively coordinate sectoral preparedness and response, ensuring efficient resource use and enhancing partner capacity. UNICEF will engage national governments and regional bodies – including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Pacific Islands Forum – to strengthen regional disaster management and private-sector engagement. Local partnerships will expand, promoting leadership in humanitarian action by women- and youth-led groups and organizations of persons with disabilities. 

UNICEF will strengthen climate- and disaster-resilient systems, including by applying 'build-back-better' strategies in humanitarian action to mitigate future risks. UNICEF will promote shock-responsive social protection systems, strengthening government readiness to deliver cash-based assistance, and will use digital technologies to further enhance access to inclusive and continuous social services during crises. Investments will strengthen monitoring, evaluation and learning to guide humanitarian action and data-driven decision-making.