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Humanitarian action and emergencies
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Report
UNICEF’s El Niño response across Eastern and Southern Africa in 2024
The Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region grappled with the severe impacts of El Niño in 2024, which have led to unprecedented droughts affecting already vulnerable communities. UNICEF worked with governments and local organizations to deliver lifesaving support aimed at minimizing the impact of El Niño across ...

Remarks
UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa Etleva Kadilli at the Eastern and Southern Africa Humanitarian Action for Children 2025 Donor Roundtable
Salutations… Thank you for joining us today. Your presence here represents our robust shared commitment to the well- being of children across Eastern and Southern Africa. As I see all of us gathered here, I’m thankful for our collaborative efforts and results we’ve achieved for children over the past year., In 202...

Appeal
UNICEF’S Humanitarian Action for Children 2025
At least 51 million children across Eastern and Southern Africa are at the epicenter of multiple crises, including relentless climate shocks, public health emergencies, conflict, displacement and economic impacts. This is a sharp increase of 6 million children in need compared to the previous year, signaling a fur...

Press release
51 million children at epicenter of overlapping crises across Eastern and Southern Africa
Nairobi, 5 December 2024, – At least 51 million children across Eastern and Southern Africa are at the epicenter of multiple crises, including relentless climate shocks, public health emergencies, conflict, and economic impacts. This is a sharp increase of 6 million children in need compared to the previous year,...

Remarks
Burundi’s children hit hard by mpox
BUJUMBURA/GENEVA, 20 SEPTEMBER 2024 – , “Children in Burundi are bearing the brunt of the mpox outbreak, with alarming rates of infection and severe health impacts. Of the nearly 600 reported cases, two-thirds are in children under 19. The situation has escalated rapidly, with a more than 40 per cent increase in c...

Press release
One-third of mpox cases in Burundi among school-age children – UNICEF
BUJUMBURA, 17 September 2024, – School-age children between 5 and 19 years old now account for 33 per cent of mpox cases in Burundi, presenting a new challenge as families prepare for the upcoming school year. “The rising number of mpox cases among children in Burundi, including children under five, is deeply conc...

Article
Mpox and children
Mpox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It can be particularly severe in children and pregnant women. On 14 August 2024, the World Health Organization declared that the upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a pub...

Press release
45 million children at risk of poor health, malnutrition, displacement & learning loss in Eastern and Southern Africa due to climate crisis
NAIROBI, 19 December 2023 -, UNICEF is sounding the alarm on a looming climate-induced humanitarian crisis in Eastern and Southern Africa where the lives of 45 million children are at risk of poor health, malnutrition, displacement and learning loss. Needs are escalated by projections indicating a strong likelihoo...

Appeal
UNICEF’S Humanitarian Action for Children 2024
Children across Eastern and Southern Africa are facing a historic confluence of crises. On top of health emergencies, displacement and malnutrition, children in the region are at high risk of the impacts of climate change. In addition to coping with climate shocks, such as drought, floods and displacement, childre...

Report
Regional El Niño Preparedness and Response Chapeau for East and Southern Africa Region
Protecting Vulnerable Children & Communities from Severe Impacts of El Nino in Eastern and Southern Africa As climate change escalates, so are its impacts on children. Vulnerable communities in Eastern and Southern Africa are now facing extreme weather conditions such as floods, due to the onset of El Nino in ...

Document
From insight to action: Examining mortality in Somalia
This report provides a retrospective analysis of the effect of the drought on population mortality in 2022 and offers forecasts based on different scenarios for the first 6 months of 2023.

Press release
More than twenty million children suffering in the Horn of Africa as drought intensifies – UNICEF
NAIROBI,, 22 December 2022, –, The number of children suffering dire drought conditions across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia has more than doubled in five months, according to UNICEF. Around 20.2 million children are now facing the threat of severe hunger, thirst and disease, compared to 10 million in July, as clima...