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6 results
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Press release
19 December 2022
Vaccination campaign targeting Ukrainian refugees in Czech Republic launched today
https://www.unicef.org/eca/press-releases/vaccination-campaign-targeting-ukrainian-refugees-czech-republic-launched-today
A campaign to drive uptake of routine and COVID-19 vaccination among Ukrainian refugees and the Ukrainian community was launched today in Brno, Czech Republic, by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNICEF. "This campaign builds upon the success of the previous one, which reached half a milion people with COVID-19 vaccination, including 420,000 people with a second booster dose. This time, we are focusing on the Ukrainian community in the Czech Republic because of the low vaccination coverage against measles and polio among Ukrainian children. By joining hands with UNICEF, we wish to tackle the spread of misinformation with practical and reliable information on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines,“ said Czech Health Minister Vlastimil Válek. “Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent infectious diseases. Since the start of the war, Ukraine has faced widespread disruption to healthcare services, including childhood and COVID-19 immunization programmes. The Czech Republic welcomed 140,000 Ukrainian refugee children this year. We need to make sure they all have access to basic health services, including vaccination. UNICEF is pleased to play a key role, alongside the Ministry of Health, in improving vaccination coverage and build trust in vaccines through the provision of information in Ukrainian ,” said Yulia Oleinik, Head of UNICEF Refugee Response Office in the Czech Republic. UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Health with campaign content and microsite, and ensuring a wide reach of campaign messages. The microsite will provide useful and verfied information such as history of immunisation, data, practical tips and recommendations for preventing and treating diseases, as well as a map of vaccination sites across the country. The microsite will go live in December, while a Ukrainian language helpline is already accessible by dialling  +420226201221. 1 UNICEF
Press release
25 March 2022
More than half of Ukraine’s children displaced after one month of war
https://www.unicef.org/eca/press-releases/more-half-ukraines-children-displaced-after-one-month-war
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.  “The war has caused one of the fastest large-scale displacements of children since World War II,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “This is a grim milestone that could have lasting consequences for generations to come. Children’s safety, wellbeing and access to essential services are all under threat from non-stop horrific violence.”   According to OHCHR, 78 children have been killed, and 105 have been injured in Ukraine since the start of the war on 24 February. Yet these figures represent only those reports that the UN has been able to confirm, and the true toll is likely far higher.  The war has also had devastating consequences on civilian infrastructure and access to basic services.  The World Health Organisation (WHO), for example, has reported 52 attacks impacting health care facilities across the country over the last four weeks, while Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science has reported damage to more than 500 education facilities. An estimated 1.4 million people now lack access to safe water, while 4.6 million people have limited access to water or are at risk of being cut off. Over 450,000 children aged 6 to 23 months need complementary food support.   UNICEF has already observed a reduction in vaccination coverage for routine and childhood immunizations, including measles and polio. This could quickly lead to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, especially in overcrowded areas where people are sheltering from the violence. “In just a few weeks, the war has wrought such devastation for Ukraine’s children,” said Russell. “Children urgently need peace and protection. They need their rights. UNICEF continues to appeal for an immediate cease-fire and for the protection of children from harm. Essential infrastructure on which children depend, including hospitals, schools and buildings sheltering civilians, must never come under attack.” UNICEF and its partners are working to reach children in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries with humanitarian assistance. In Ukraine, UNICEF has delivered medical supplies to 49 hospitals in 9 regions – including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Lviv – improving access to healthcare for 400,000 mothers, newborns and children. UNICEF continues to distribute water and hygiene items in communities under siege. In addition, UNICEF is increasing the number of mobile child protection teams working inside acute conflict zones from 22 to 50 and has delivered 63 trucks of lifesaving supplies to support the needs of over 2.2 million people. In the coming weeks, UNICEF will start emergency cash transfers to the most vulnerable families and establish child-friendly spaces in key locations across the country.  To protect and support the millions of children and families who have fled Ukraine, UNICEF and UNHCR in partnership with governments and civil society organizations, have created “Blue Dots,” one-stop safe spaces for children and women. ‘Blue Dots’ provide key information to travelling families, help to identify unaccompanied and separated children and ensure their protection. They also provide a hub for essential services. ‘Blue Dots’ have already been established in countries hosting Ukrainian children and women and are being scaled up over the coming days, including more than 20 in Poland. Despite intensive efforts to ensure safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access, significant challenges remain in the most affected areas across the country.  Displaced children UNICEF
Press release
04 May 2020
With financial support from the European Union UNICEF launches the ‘RM Child-Health’ project to strengthen vulnerable refugee and migrant children’s health
https://www.unicef.org/eca/press-releases/financial-support-european-union-unicef-launches-rm-child-health-project-strengthen
Logo Logo   BRUSSELS, GENEVA, 5 May 2020 – Under the Health Programme of the European Union, the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety has committed a project grant to  UNICEF to support work ensuring refugee and migrant children and their families have access to quality health care and accurate health information in Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Spain, Bosnia Herzegovina and Serbia. Refugee and migrant children and their families often have more health-related risks and face a number of barriers accessing quality health care. Many children and families also live with severe emotional distress due to the trauma of fleeing home, undertaking dangerous journeys and experiencing abuse and exploitation, including sexual and gender-based violence. The global COVID19 pandemic further exacerbates these health challenges.  “With the ongoing pandemic, protecting every child and adult’s right to health care and accurate heath information is paramount. This collaboration with the EU Health Programme will help ensure the most vulnerable refugee and migrant children will have better access to primary healthcare services, psychosocial support as well as violence prevention and response services,” said UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia and Special Coordinator for the Refuge and Migrant Response in Europe, Ms. Afshan Khan. The project ‘RM Child-Health’ will help improve the health of refugee and migrant children by improving their access to life-saving immunizations, mental health and psychosocial support, gender-based violence prevention and response activities as well as maternal and newborn health care and nutrition support. Information materials on health-related risks and services available for refugee and migrant populations will be created and shared. Medical interpreters and cultural mediators will be deployed to support communication between children and families and health care providers. The project ‘RM Child-Health’ will also support training programmes so frontline health care workers can better respond to the specific needs of refugee and migrant children and their families. In parallel, national health authorities will benefit from technical support to develop, update and improve the implementation of health policies and address bottlenecks in national health systems that currently prevent refugee and migrant children from accessing services. Refugee mother feeding her baby at ADRA community centre in Belgrade. UNICEF/UNI220342/Pancic
Press release
15 November 2019
30 years of child rights: Historic gains and undeniable achievements, but little progress for the world’s poorest children - UNICEF
https://www.unicef.org/eca/press-releases/30-years-child-rights-historic-gains-and-undeniable-achievements-little-progress
NEW YORK, 18 November 2019 – There have been historic gains overall for the world’s children since the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted 30 years ago. However, many of the poorest children are yet to feel the impact, according to The Convention on the Rights of the Child at a Crossroads , a new report released today.  Part of commemorations marking the 30 th anniversary of the CRC, the report looks at the undeniable achievements of the past three decades, proof that where there is political will and determination, children’s lives improve.   “There have been impressive gains for children over the past three decades, as more and more are living longer, better and healthier lives. However, the odds continue to be stacked against the poorest and most vulnerable,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “In addition to the persistent challenges of health, nutrition and education, children today have to contend with new threats like climate change, online abuse and cyberbullying. Only with innovation, new technologies, political will and increased resources will we help translate the vision of the Convention on the Rights of the Child into a reality for all children everywhere.” Citing progress in child rights over the past three decades, the report notes that:  The global under-five mortality rate has fallen by about 60 per cent. The proportion of primary-school-aged children not in school decreased from 18 per cent to 8 per cent. The guiding principles of the CRC – non-discrimination; the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and the right to protection – have influenced numerous constitutions, laws, policies and practices globally. However, the report notes, this progress has not been even.  In low and middle-income countries children from the poorest households are twice as likely to die from preventable causes before their fifth birthday than children from the richest households.   According to recent available data, only half of children from the poorest households in sub-Saharan Africa are vaccinated against measles, compared to 85 per cent of children from the richest households.   Despite a decline in child marriage rates globally, the poorest girls in some countries are more at risk today than they were in 1989. The report also addresses age-old and new threats affecting children around the world:  Poverty, discrimination and marginalization continue to leave millions of the most disadvantaged children at risk: Armed conflicts, rising xenophobia and the global migration and refugee crisis all have a devastating impact on global progress. Children are physically, physiologically and epidemiologically most at risk of the impacts of the climate crisis: Rapid changes in climate are spreading disease, increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, and creating food and water insecurity. Unless urgent action is taken, the worst for many children is yet to come. Although more children are immunized than ever before, a slowdown in immunisation coverage rates over the past decade is threatening to reverse hard-won gain in children’s health: Measles vaccination coverage has stagnated since 2010, contributing to a resurgence of the deadly disease in many countries. Almost 350,000 cases of measles were recorded in 2018, more than double the total in 2017. The number of out-of-school children has stagnated and learning outcomes for those in school remain poor: Globally, the number children who are not in primary level has remained static since 2007. Many of those who are in school are not learning the basics, let alone the skills they need to thrive in today’s economy. To accelerate progress in advancing child rights, and to address stagnation and backsliding in some of these rights, the report calls for more data and evidence; scaling up proven solutions and interventions; expanding resources; involving young people in co-creating solutions; and applying the principles of equity and gender equality in programming. But it also recognizes that while all these elements are necessary to bring about change, our rapidly changing world also requires new modalities to confront emerging opportunities and challenges, and to truly embed the rights of children as a global cause again.  To find these pathways, over the next 12 months UNICEF plans to undertake a global dialogue on what it will take to make the promise of the convention a reality for every child. The discourse will be inclusive, involving children and young people, parents and caregivers, education and social workers, communities and governments, civil society, academia, the private sector and the media. And it will influence the way the organization does business in the future.  “The Convention stands at a crossroads between its illustrious past and its future potential. It is up to us to recommit, take decisive steps and hold ourselves accountable,” said Fore. “We should take our lead from young people who are speaking up and speaking out for their rights as never before, we must act now – boldly and creatively.” Children from the local underprivileged Roma community playing in the streets of their community in the town of Shumen, Northern Bulgaria. UNICEF supports families at risk through the work of mobile units composed by social workers. UNICEF/ Bulgaria / Giacomo Pirozzi
Press release
27 January 2019
UNICEF appeals for $3.9 billion in emergency assistance for 41 million children affected by conflict or disaster
https://www.unicef.org/eca/press-releases/unicef-appeals-39-billion-emergency-assistance-41-million-children-affected-conflict
GENEVA/NEW YORK, 29 January 2019 – Millions of children living in countries affected by conflict and disaster lack access to vital child protection services, putting their safety, well-being and futures at risk, UNICEF warned today as it appealed for $3.9 billion to support its work for children in humanitarian crises . UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children sets out the agency’s 2019 appeal and its efforts to provide 41 million children with access to safe water, nutrition, education, health and protection in 59 countries across the globe. Funding for child protection programmes accounts for $385 million of the overall appeal, including almost $121 million for protection services for children affected by the Syria crisis. “Today millions of children living through conflict or disaster are suffering horrific levels of violence, distress and trauma,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “The impact of our child protection work cannot be overstated. When children do not have safe places to play, when they cannot be reunited with their families, when they do not receive psychosocial support, they will not heal from the unseen scars of war.”   UNICEF estimates that more than 34 million children living through conflict and disaster lack access to child protection services, including 6.6 million children in Yemen, 5.5 million children in Syria and 4 million children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC ). Child protection services include all efforts to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation, trauma and violence. UNICEF also works to ensure that the protection of children is central to all other areas of the organisation’s humanitarian programmes, including water, sanitation and hygiene, education and other areas of work by identifying, mitigating and responding to potential dangers to children’s safety and wellbeing.  However, funding constraints, as well as other challenges including warring parties’ growing disregard for international humanitarian law and the denial of humanitarian access, mean that aid agencies’ capacity to protect children is severely limited. In the DRC, for example, UNICEF received just a third of the $21 million required for child protection programmes in 2018, while around one-fifth of child protection funding for Syrian children remained unmet. “Providing these children with the support they need is critical, but without significant and sustained international action, many will continue to fall through the cracks,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Director of Emergency Programmes. “The international community should commit to supporting the protection of children in emergencies.” 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the landmark Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, yet today, more countries are embroiled in internal or international conflict than at any other time in the past three decades, threatening the safety and wellbeing of millions of children. UNICEF’s appeal comes one month after the children’s agency said that the world is failing to protect children living in conflict around the world, with catastrophic consequences. Children who are continuously exposed to violence or conflict, especially at a young age, are at risk of living in a state of toxic stress – a condition that, without the right support can lead to negative life-long consequences for their cognitive, social and emotional development. Some children impacted by war, displacement and other traumatic events – such as sexual and gender-based violence – require specialized care to help them cope and recover. The five largest individual appeals are for Syrian refugees and host communities in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey (US$ 904 million); Yemen (US$ 542.3 million); The Democratic Republic of the Congo (US$ 326.1 million); Syria (US$ 319.8 million) and South Sudan (US$ 179.2 million). ###   Notes to editors:   In total, working alongside its partners, UNICEF aims to: Provide 4 million children and caregivers with access to psychosocial support; Provide almost 43 million people with access to safe water; Reach 10.1 million children with formal or non-formal basic education; Immunize 10.3 million children against measles; Treat 4.2 million children with severe acute malnutrition. In the first 10 months of 2018, as a result of UNICEF’s support: 3.1 million children and caregivers received psychosocial support; 35.3 million people had access to safe water; 5.9 million children accessed some form of education; 4.7 million children were vaccinated against measles; 2.6 million children were treated for severe acute malnutrition. Photos and multimedia materials are available for download here: https://weshare.unicef.org/Package/2AMZIFI7QW8B Humanitarian Action for Children 2019 and individual appeals can be found here:  https://uni.cf/HAC_2019 On 23 September 2018 in Ukraine, Masha Khromchenko, 11, stands in the kindergarten class room that took a direct hit from a shell Novotoshkivske in the Luhansk region. The shell caused massive damage to the facility and surrounding residential area. UNICEF/UN0243152/Morris VII Photo On 23 September 2018 in Ukraine, Masha Khromchenko, 11, stands in the kindergarten class room that took a direct hit from a shell Novotoshkivske in the Luhansk region. The shell caused massive damage to the facility and surrounding residential area.
Press release
08 December 2016
UNICEF commemorates 70 years of tireless work for the world’s most vulnerable children
https://www.unicef.org/eca/press-releases/unicef-commemorates-70-years
NEW YORK, 11 December 2016 – On the 70th anniversary of its founding, UNICEF celebrates the immense progress made for the world’s children – and renews the urgent call to reach millions of children whose lives and futures are endangered by conflict, crisis, poverty, inequality and discrimination. “UNICEF was founded after World War II to bring help and hope to all children at risk or in need – no matter which country they lived in or what role that country played in the war.  Our mission is no less urgent and universal today,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “With so many children around the world in so much need, we are recommitting ourselves to delivering results for every child.” The organization was established by the United Nations General Assembly to help children in post-war Europe, China and the Middle East. Funded entirely through voluntary contributions from governments, civil society, the private sector and concerned citizens, it rapidly expanded its reach and by 1955 was working for children in more than 90 countries. Today, UNICEF is the world’s largest children’s organization, working with partners in 190 countries and territories and through the efforts of 13,000 national and international staff to reach every child. UNICEF’s relentless engagement in the world’s toughest places has helped create remarkable progress for children in recent decades. The number of children dying before their fifth birthdays has been more than halved in the past 25 years. Hundreds of millions of children have been lifted out of poverty. Out-of-school rates among primary-school-aged children have been reduced by more than 40 per cent since 1990. In the 1940s, UNICEF provided emergency nutrition aid, mainly in the form of milk, to children in post-war Europe. In 2015, the organization and its partners treated 2.9 million children for severe acute malnutrition worldwide. In the 1950s, UNICEF led its first immunization campaigns against diseases such as tuberculosis and yaws. In 2015, the organization procured 2.8 billion doses of vaccines, and with its partners helping to protect 45 per cent of children under 5 years old worldwide from a range of deadly diseases. In 1953, UNICEF launched its first water, sanitation and hygiene programmes. Between 1990 and 2015, 2.6 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources and 2.1 billion gained access to improved sanitation facilities. In 1961, UNICEF expanded its programmatic focus to include children’s education. In 2015, UNICEF and its partners provided 7.5 million children aged 3 to 18 with access to formal or non-formal basic education. In 1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which specifies that all children should be registered at birth to establish their identity under the law and thus to safeguard  their rights. In 2015, UNICEF supported the registration of more than 9.7 million children’s births in 54 countries. In 1998, UNICEF became a founding member of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership to support malaria treatment and research, and expand prevention measures such as long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets. In 2015, UNICEF procured 22.3 million bed nets to protect children and families in 30 countries.   Since its founding, UNICEF has responded to thousands of humanitarian emergencies affecting children. In 2015, UNICEF and partners vaccinated 11.3 million children against measles in countries affected by crisis; provided 4 million children in emergency situations with access to formal or non-formal basic education; and provided psychosocial support for 2 million children caught in conflicts and natural disasters. Despite this impressive progress, millions of children are still being left behind because they live in poverty or in hard-to-reach communities, because of their gender, race, religion, ethnic group, or because they have a disability.  Nearly 250 million children are growing up in countries affected by conflict and nearly 50 million children have been uprooted from their homes. “UNICEF’s vision for the next 70 years is a world in which our work is no longer necessary -- a world in which every child is healthy, safe, educated, cared for and protected … and all children can make the most of their potential,” said Lake. “It’s the right thing to do, and the surest path to a better future for us all.”   Notes to Editors:​​​​​​​ UNICEF’s commemoration of its 70th anniversary includes: • The publication of a new book, For Every Child, Hope: UNICEF@70 1946-2016, which captures 70 years of the organization’s work for the most vulnerable children; • The launch of a new global institutional identity under the umbrella concept, UNICEF for every child, that underscores the universality of UNICEF’s mandate and the urgent need to reach the most vulnerable and excluded children; and • The relaunch of UNICEF’s global website, www.unicef.org , In 1946 in Yugoslavia, three boys, who are wearing clothes donated by the Dutch Red Cross, share a desk in a school in the city of Karlovac in the north-western region of Croatia. UNICEF/UNI43103/Unknown

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