UNICEF appeals for US$1 billion to support 16 million children across 22 countries in ESA

Across Eastern and Southern Africa, crises fueled by rising hunger, protracted conflict, climate shocks, mass displacement, and deepening funding cuts are driving humanitarian needs for children to unprecedented levels.

• The region is experiencing one of the world’s largest displacement crises, partly due to the conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More than 13 million people are uprooted, and children face escalating risks of separation, recruitment, violence, and exploitation. With 46 million children out of school, vulnerability continues to deepen.
• Malnutrition is reaching critical levels: 4.2 million children under five suffer from severe acute malnutrition, and one in three children (25 million) are living in severe child food poverty.
• Public health crises are intensifying, with 19 of 22 countries simultaneously confronting outbreaks of cholera, mpox, Ebola, Marburg, and vaccine-preventable illnesses such as measles and polio. Cholera cases increased by 21 per cent in 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, while deaths rose by 35 per cent.
   

To meet the region’s evolving challenges, UNICEF is:

• prioritizing lifesaving interventions,
• strengthening partnerships with governments and local actors,
• investing in preparedness and risk analysis, and
• building resilient national systems to enhance humanitarian response.
   

To further support humanitarian needs across Eastern and Southern Africa, UNICEF also calls on governments, donors and partners to:

• increase investment in children, with an emphasis on flexible and multi-year funding;
• support locally led response and national systems;
• uphold humanitarian principles and the centrality of protection;
• and remove barriers that impede humanitarian access.