News and stories

Brazzaville -, Following rigorous technical assessments, five African countries have successfully stopped the spread of polio, marking an important milestone in efforts to protect children from this virus and advance towards eradication. Teams from the Independent Outbreak Response Assessment (OBRA) conducted separate assessments between January and June 2026,…,  , In the Republic of the Congo, authorities strengthened surveillance and implemented multiple high-quality vaccination campaigns to rapidly interrupt transmission following virus detections. Their last detection was reported in December 2023, with subsequent efforts focused on maintaining disease surveillance sensitivity and closing immunity gaps…, Note to editors, Polio is a highly infectious disease that can cause irreversible paralysis. There is no cure, but it can be prevented through safe and effective vaccination. Outbreak closure is a country-specific technical determination based on evidence demonstrating that transmission associated with a particular outbreak has been interrupted. The closure…

Geneva/Nairobi, 30 June 2026 -, The Committee on the Rights of the Child and UNICEF express their deep concern regarding the plight of migrant children in South Africa and the challenges they face while moving across the African continent. As enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, every child has the…

NAIROBI, 29 June 2026, – A new evaluation of the Regional Programme on Water and Sanitation for Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons and Host Communities in East Africa (R-WASH) shows progress in improving water services for displacement-affected communities across Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. Implemented jointly by UNICEF and UNHCR with support from the German…

Anurita Bains is UNICEF Associate Director for HIV and Health. She has championed health equity and gender equality in the HIV response for over 25 years, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. For over four decades, the global AIDS response has been powered by grief, rage, courage, and determination. Families buried loved ones long before their time…, Then came the shock, In 2025, abrupt funding cuts undermined the very systems that made this progress possible. Prevention efforts stalled. Pharmacies ran out of essential medicines. Health workers were laid off. Systems that had taken decades to build began to unravel in a matter of months. Community activists experienced the fallout firsthand: Florence Riako Anam,…, Deadly consequences, A devastating  Cost of Inaction analysis from UNICEF and UNAIDS underscored what is at stake. If there is a 50 per cent reduction in HIV interventions for treatment and prevention, we could face a worse-case scenario of three million children acquiring HIV by 2040 and 1.8 million children dying from AIDS-related causes, the majority in sub-Saharan…, We know what works, We have the tools, the science, and the knowledge. Expanding proven interventions could prevent more than half a million deaths. What works is making sure new medical breakthroughs reach those who need it. Young women and girls are six times more likely to acquire HIV than boys. Lenacapavir, which offers protection with just two injections a year…, Declarations must be judged by one measure alone: lives saved., The measure of effectiveness for this new Political Declaration is simple: Will children be protected from HIV? Will mothers receive the care they need? Will adolescent girls be allowed to grow up without the shadow of HIV narrowing their futures? If the answer is yes, then the declaration will matter. If not, it will be another missed opportunity…, High-Level meeting on AIDS, – held every five years since 2001 at the UN – is a formal summit convened by the United Nations General Assembly that brings together world leaders, civil society, and health experts to review progress and set global strategies to fight the epidemic. The, Political Declaration , is the official, negotiated outcome document adopted by UN member states at the end of this meeting. It outlines specific, measurable targets, financial commitments, and human rights goals necessary to end AIDS as a public health threat.

NAIROBI, 16 June 2026 , – On the Day of the African Child, UNICEF's Children's Climate Risk Report 2026 warns that children across Eastern and Southern Africa are facing overlapping climate shocks that are disrupting essential services, undermining children's rights and deepening inequality. Across the region, over 65 million children, close to one in four, are already…

The Big Catch-Up, launched during World Immunization Week 2023, has delivered over 100 million vaccine doses to an estimated 18.3 million children across 36 countries. Around 12.3 million were “zero-dose children” who had not previously received any vaccines and 15 million who had never received a measles vaccine. The initiative concluded in March…, GENEVA/NEW YORK, 24 April 2026 – , The Big Catch-Up (BCU), a historic multi-year, multi-country effort to address vaccination declines driven largely by the COVID-19 pandemic, has reached an estimated 18.3 million children aged 1 to 5 across 36 countries with more than 100 million doses of life-saving vaccines, helping to narrow critical immunity gaps, announced Gavi, the Vaccine…, Addressing the vaccine equity gap, Beyond pandemic recovery, the BCU initiative focused on closing the vaccine equity gap. Millions of children every year miss the essential vaccinations they should receive before the age of one. Most of them live in fragile, conflict-affected, or underserved communities and are never caught up as they grow older. The 36 participating BCU countries…, Looking at the challenges ahead, Through the Big Catch-Up, for the first time ever, countries and global partners successfully reached 12.3 million “older” zero dose children between the ages of 1 to 5. However, in 2024, an estimated 14.3 million infants under the age of one globally failed to receive a single vaccine through routine immunization programmes. Despite BCU…, For every generation, vaccines work, WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi, along with countries and communities, are marking  World Immunization Week (24-30 April 2026) with a joint campaign, "For every generation, vaccines work," calling on countries to sustain and expand vaccination coverage at every age. At the midpoint of the  Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030), and central to  Gavi's 2026–2030…

NAIROBI, 20 April 2026, – Climate-related disasters have already cost education systems in Eastern and Southern Africa US$1.3 billion in direct loss and damage to schools and teaching infrastructure, and disrupted learning for 130 million children, according to a new UNICEF and Dalberg report, Protecting Children’s Learning Futures: Quantifying Climate-Related Loss and…, Strengthen the integration of education within national climate frameworks, : Explicitly reference education in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), to help unlock access to climate and loss-and- damage financing., Apply a climate-risk lens to domestic education financing, : Ensure budget allocations to education are climate-informed, prioritizing the critical, foundational stage of learning for children and continuity of education in the face of climate shocks., Scale and target international climate finance for education, : Ensure major climate funds, including the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), allocate dedicated resources to education, with FRLD specifically supporting unavoidable losses when climate impacts exceed what education systems can adapt to.    ##### , Note to editors: , Report: UNICEF and Dalberg Protecting Children’s Learning Futures: Quantifying Climate-Related Loss and Damage in Eastern and Southern Africa, on Loss and Damage in Education B-roll: Climate and Education Broadcast Country analyses in the UNICEF and Dalberg report includes:, Kenya, : 2024 floods disrupted schooling and widened gender gaps in re-enrollment, particularly for girls and children with disabilities., Somalia, : Repeated droughts, floods and conflict have driven mass displacement, leaving millions of children out of school and newly displaced children – especially girls – least likely to attend., Mozambique, : Cyclones Idai and Kenneth in 2019 showed that while thousands of classrooms were destroyed, those built to resilient standards withstood the impact - highlighting both the returns on investment and the scale of unmet need., Ethiopia, : Rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves affect 83 per cent of children, and are already disrupting school attendance, reducing concentration in the classroom, and undermining learning outcomes.

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 18 March 2026, – An estimated 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2024, including 2.3 million newborns, according to new estimates released today. Most of these deaths are preventable with proven, low-cost interventions and access to quality health care. According to the report – Levels & Trends in Child Mortality – under-five deaths…, Make child survival a political and financing priority, , with political commitment from high-burden countries to mobilize domestic resources, and improve access to evidence-based, quality services that are affordable for all., Focus on those at highest risk,, especially mothers and children in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, and in conflict and fragile settings., Strengthen accountability,  for existing commitments to reduce maternal, newborn, and child deaths, including transparent data collection, tracking, and reporting., Invest in primary health care systems , to prevent, diagnose and treat the leading causes of death in children, including through community health workers and skilled care at birth.,  , Quotes, “No child should die from diseases that we know how to prevent. But we see worrying signs that progress in child survival is slowing – and at a time where we’re seeing further global budget cuts,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “History has shown what is possible when the world commits to protecting its children. With sustained…

When Lethokuhle discovered she was pregnant, she was already seven months along. “I didn’t know,” she says quietly. “I took three tests. I thought I was fine.” At 22 years old, she had finished school and was living at home with her parents. She had plans for the future, but motherhood was not something she had prepared for. When she realised she…, Finding strength at home, When Lethokuhle finally told her parents, their response surprised her. “They were calm,” she remembers. “They shouted a little — they are parents — but they didn’t hurt me. They supported me.” Her mother made sure she received medical care and accompanied her to appointments. “She didn’t want nurses to judge me for coming late,” Lethokuhle…, “They made me feel safe”, After her baby was born, Lethokuhle began visiting the local clinic in KwaZulu Natal for immunisations. That is where she met the Young Mentor Mothers — Sindiswa and Phumele. “I was relieved,” she says. “They asked about my life. They listened. They promised they wouldn’t share my story.” For the first time, she felt she could speak openly. “I…, Walking the journey together, For Sindiswa and Phumele, building trust is at the heart of their work. “We talk to them like someone we know,” says Phumele. “So they feel comfortable.” Confidentiality, respect, and empathy are central. “Everything we talk about is private,” Sindiswa adds. “That’s how we build trust.” They provide health information, support with treatment…, Becoming a mother, Today, Lethokuhle speaks with pride about her child. “I feel proud to be a mother,” she says. “Many people said I wouldn’t make it. But I am doing it.” Raising a child on her own has not been easy. “It’s very hard,” she admits. “But I’m strong.” She dreams of studying hospitality in the future and building a stable life for her son. “I want to…, Growing as young leaders, For Sindiswa and Phumele, becoming Young Mentor Mothers has also been life-changing. Before joining the programme, both were shy and uncertain about their abilities. “I wasn’t confident,” Sindiswa says. “Now I can stand in front of people and speak.” Phumele agrees. “This job helped me accept who I am.” Through their work, they have gained…, Looking forward, All three young women now speak about the future with hope. “This job opened my eyes,” Phumele says. “I can progress in life.” Lethokuhle agrees. “I know now that this is not the end. I still have a future.” Surrounded by supportive parents, caring young mentors mothers, and a health system that values psychosocial support and peer connection, she…

This year’s International Women’s Day campaign is ‘Give to Gain’, highlighting that when women thrive, we all rise. The path to equality is paved with innovative programmes which prioritise women and girls, while also benefiting their families, communities and countries. Eastern and Southern Africa has some of the world’s highest rates of maternal…, . , In short, investing in adolescents gives a high yield return for everyone. For every country in the region to meet their Sustainable Development Goals, we must carefully consider what we must give, in order to gain. Governments, UN, civil society, donors, communities and individuals alike, shouldn’t see giving as a subtraction. It's intentional…

Nairobi, 7 March 2026, – “UNICEF strongly condemns the brutal attack in Abiemnhom County in the Ruweng Administrative Area of South Sudan, which resulted in the deaths of three children, while at least 13 others are receiving treatment in hospital. The assault occurred on March 1, 2026. Local authorities report that the death toll has risen to 180, with more than 4,000…

Djibouti, 6 March 2026 –, “UNICEF is deeply saddened by the loss of four children’s lives following an explosion in the Dikhil region in Djibouti.   “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the children and to the communities affected by this tragic incident. Our thoughts are also with the children who sustained injuries and we wish them a full and swift…