Press releases

NEW YORK, 1 May 2026 – , “As countries convene for the International Migration Review Forum, the world faces a global turning point in how migration systems affect children. Globally, new laws, enforcement practices, and bilateral arrangements are rapidly changing. “What is at stake is profound: whether children will be met with systems that uphold their rights and best…

ROME/NEW YORK, 28 April 2026 – , The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF today warned that a deepening hunger crisis in South Sudan is pushing 7.8 million people into high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) between April and July 2026, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)…

 –  “Twenty years ago, Darfur shocked the world. An entire generation of children became victims or survivors of terrible atrocities.  Images of burned villages, death and mass displacement sparked global outrage and action. As always, children were at the sharpest end of the crisis. “Today, as the war in Sudan moves into its fourth year, history is repeating itself in the darkest possible way for children in Darfur. Once again, millions of children are living through extreme violence, hunger, and displacement. But this time, the crisis is deeper and global attention has not come close to matching the scale of children’s suffering. “Today, some 33 million people in Sudan need humanitarian assistance - more than half of them children. An estimated 15 million people have been uprooted, including approximately 5 million children. “Across the five Darfur states, more than 5 million children are facing extreme deprivation. “As we did two decades ago, UNICEF is today launching a new Child Alert to raise the alarm about the catastrophic situation of children in Darfur. Children are at a breaking point. “Across the region, childhood is again defined by fear and loss. Homes have been burned. Schools and health facilities have been damaged or destroyed. Families have been forced to flee - often repeatedly, often with nothing. Children are bearing the heaviest weight of this war. “In Darfur, children are being killed and maimed, uprooted from their homes, and pushed into extreme hunger, disease and trauma. Nowhere has the impact been more severe than in Al Fasher.  Since April 2024, more than 1,500 grave violations against children have been verified in Al Fasher, including the killing and maiming of over 1,300 children, many by explosive weapons and drones, as well as sexual violence, abductions and recruitment and use by armed groups. “Even though the siege of Al Fasher has ended, its impact continues. The consequences continue to shape daily life for children, both those who fled and those who were forced to stay. “Yet violence is not contained to one city or region. Across Sudan, it is intensifying. In just the first 90 days of this year, at least 245 children were reportedly killed or injured. These are just the cases we have been able to document; the true toll is likely a lot higher. Behind every number is a child whose life, and future, has been irrevocably altered. “Hunger has become another frontline threat. Famine conditions were confirmed in Al Fasher in November 2025, and malnutrition rates among children have reached catastrophic levels in parts of Darfur, with Global Acute Malnutrition rates exceeding 50 per cent in some locations. Across Darfur, conflict has shattered livelihoods and food systems. “Health services have been attacked, looted or forced to close. Routine immunisation has been disrupted. Disease outbreaks remain a constant risk, particularly for children already weakened by hunger. “Education has also been devastated. Of the nearly 4 million school‑aged children in Darfur, over 3 million are now out of school. Schools have been destroyed, closed, or repurposed as shelters. “This crisis does not stop at Sudan’s borders. Children are fleeing into neighbouring countries, arriving exhausted, traumatized and malnourished. Host communities have shown generosity, but services are overwhelmed and severely underfunded. “Despite extraordinary challenges, UNICEF and partners are staying and delivering: treating children for severe acute malnutrition, providing safe water, supporting mobile health and vaccination services, and delivering psychosocial support and learning in child‑friendly spaces. “But humanitarian action is being pushed to its limits. “What is needed now is not abstract. We need predictable, sustained humanitarian access and presence across Darfur - not temporary openings, but the ability to remain and deliver consistently and safely. Movement must be enabled, not obstructed. “Civilians must be protected, with children explicitly at the centre of these efforts. Schools, clinics, water systems and humanitarian convoys must be spared from attacks. “And we need urgent, flexible funding that matches the scale and urgency of this crisis. Today, UNICEF’s 2026 humanitarian appeal for Sudan is only 16 per cent funded, putting lifesaving services for millions of children at risk. “Children in Darfur do not need sympathy. They need the world to act, now. An entire generation is at stake.” Link to the report:  https://www.unicef.org/child-alert/children-under-threat-darfur Sudan Child Alert UNICEF/UNI235957/Noorani A girl child stands at UNICEF supported Child Friendly Centre managed by Saeker Voluntary Organization in Dabba Naiva IDP camp in Tawila, 60 km West of El-Fasher, the capital of the state of North Darfur, Sudan.

KABUL/FLORENCE/NEW YORK, 28 April 2026 –, Afghanistan risks losing up to 20,000 women teachers and 5,400 healthcare workers by 2030 as restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment continue, according to a new UNICEF analysis. The Cost of Inaction on Girls’ Education and Women’s Labour Force Participation in Afghanistan found that female representation in the civil services fell…,  , lose future,  , teachers, nurses, doctors, midwives, and social workers, who sustain essential services. This will be the reality if girls continue to be excluded from education,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.   “We urge the de facto authorities to lift the ban on secondary education for girls and call on the international community to remain…

Twenty years after Darfur captured global attention as violence devastated communities and displaced millions in Sudan, children in the region are again trapped in a catastrophic crisis – but with less international focus and aid, UNICEF warned in a new Child Alert released today. The report, “Darfur: 20 Years On, Children Under Threat,” highlights how Sudan’s ongoing conflict has reignited large-scale violence, mass displacement, acute hunger and grave violations against children across Darfur.  As in 2005, homes have been burned, markets attacked, schools and health facilities damaged or destroyed, and families forced to flee – but today the scale of needs is greater, and the global outrage is far more constrained. Across Darfur, children are bearing the heaviest burden of conflict. Many have lost access to education and healthcare, while growing numbers face severe malnutrition, disease, and violence perpetrated by armed forces or groups. Millions of children have been uprooted, with significant displacement also across borders, particularly into eastern Chad, where already overstretched services are struggling to cope with new arrivals. The Child Alert draws stark parallels between the situation today and UNICEF’s first Darfur Child Alert published in 2005, when global outrage spurred humanitarian mobilization.  Twenty years on, children’s needs have grown in scale and complexity, yet funding shortfalls, access restrictions, the changing nature of warfare, and limited international attention are sharply limiting the reach of lifesaving support. “Twenty years ago, the world united in outrage at the suffering of children in Darfur. Today, a new generation of children is living through horrific violence, hunger and terror,” said Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director. “We cannot allow history to repeat itself.  Children in Darfur need protection and sustained humanitarian access.  The parties to this conflict must end this brutal war.” In Al Fasher and other locations in North Darfur, prolonged conflict and sieges have left families cut off from food, safe water, and healthcare, forcing many to flee toward already overcrowded areas.  Across Darfur, conflict has damaged or destroyed essential infrastructure, accelerating areas with famine, hunger, and disease as livelihoods collapse. Children are also facing an alarming escalation in extreme violence. Nowhere has the impact been more acute than in Al Fasher. Since April 2024, more than 1,500 grave violations against children* attributed to parties to the conflict have been verified in Al Fasher, including the killing and maiming of over 1,300 children, many by explosive weapons and drones, as well as sexual violence, abductions and recruitment and use by armed groups. Yet, these harrowing figures almost certainly underrepresent the true scale of abuse, with similar patterns in other parts of the country. Since the war began, the United Nations has verified more than 5,700 grave violations by parties to the conflict against children across Sudan, impacting at least 5,100 children, with over 4,300 killed or maimed. The trend is worsening. In the first three months of 2026 alone, at least 160 children were reportedly killed and 85 injured, marking a significant increase compared to the same period last year. Despite extraordinary challenges, UNICEF and partners continue delivering lifesaving assistance across Darfur and neighbouring countries and providing education, clean water and sanitation, treating children for severe acute malnutrition, supporting mobile health services, offering psychosocial support and establishing safe spaces for children. However, the Child Alert warns that humanitarian efforts remain severely constrained by insecurity, bureaucratic impediments, and funding shortfalls, leaving many children cut off from assistance at moments of greatest risk. UNICEF is calling on parties to the conflict to uphold international law and protect civilians, including children; ensure safe and unimpeded humanitarian access; and end and prevent grave violations against children. The organization also urges donors to provide flexible, multi-year funding to sustain lifesaving programmes and support children affected by displacement across borders. ###

DAKAR/NEW YORK, 26 April 2026 - , “After a 14-day visit to the Central Sahel, I have witnessed firsthand a region rich in possibilities, yet continuously affected by insecurity, climate shocks, and socio-economic crises. ‘’The reports of violence in Mali over the past 24 hours are another example of the stark reminder that such crises in the region create a fragile situation for…

GENEVA, 24 April 2025 - , “The Global Report on Food Crises makes a stark point, that famine is no longer just a risk, it is a harsh reality children are living through right now.  “Chapter 3 of the report, on acute malnutrition, shows that today’s food crises are also deep nutrition crises, driven by conflict, displacement, and the collapse of essential services. This is…

Acute food insecurity and malnutrition levels remain alarmingly high and deeply entrenched, with crises increasingly concentrated in a core group of countries, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2026 , released today by an international alliance.  In its tenth edition, the GRFC shows that acute hunger has doubled over the past decade, with two famines declared last year for the first time in the report’s history. The report from the Global Network Against Food Crises reveals that acute food insecurity remains highly concentrated. Ten countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen — accounted for two-thirds of all people facing high levels of acute hunger.  Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen experienced the largest food crises both in terms of the share and absolute number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity. At the most extreme end, famine was identified in Gaza Governorate and parts of Sudan in 2025 by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system . This marks the first time since the GRFC began reporting that famine has been confirmed in two separate contexts in the same year. This signals a sharp escalation in the most extreme forms of hunger and malnutrition, driven primarily by conflict and restricted humanitarian access, and exacerbated by forced displacement. In total, 266 million people in 47 countries/territories experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2025, representing almost 23 percent of the analysed population – a proportion that is marginally higher than in 2024 and nearly double the share recorded in 2016. In 2025, the severity of acute food insecurity was the second highest on record, with the share of people facing extreme hunger remaining at one of the most critical levels seen in the past two decades. The number of people facing catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5) is nine times higher than it was in 2016. At the same time, acute malnutrition remains a critical and growing concern. In 2025 alone, 35.5 million children were acutely malnourished, including nearly 10 million suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Nearly half of food-crisis contexts also faced nutrition crises, reflecting the combined effects of inadequate diets, disease burden, and breakdowns in essential services. In the most severe contexts, including Gaza, Myanmar, South Sudan and Sudan, these compounded shocks have resulted in extreme levels of malnutrition and elevated risks of mortality. In addition, forced displacement continued to exacerbate food insecurity. More than 85 million people were forcibly displaced across food-crisis contexts in 2025, including internally displaced people, asylum-seekers and refugees with people forced to flee consistently facing higher levels of acute hunger than host communities. “Conflict remains the primary driver of acute food insecurity and malnutrition for millions around the world, with outright famine emerging in two conflict-affected areas in the same year — an unprecedented development,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in the foreword to the report. “This report is a call to action urging global leaders to summon the political will to rapidly scale up investment in lifesaving aid, and work to end the conflicts that inflict so much suffering on so many.” The full list of key findings is available here (Link to In Brief TBA)

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…

NEW YORK, 22 April 2026 –, “Ambassador Clase, thank you so much for having me today. I really appreciate it. “Let me start by saying what you all know. Across the globe, children are facing record levels of violence, displacement, and deprivation. “In 2024 alone, the United Nations verified more than 41,000 grave violations against children. That is the highest number ever…

NEW YORK, 17 April 2026, – “UNICEF is outraged by the killing of two drivers of trucks contracted by UNICEF to provide clean water to families in the Gaza Strip. “The victims were killed by Israeli fire in an incident that took place early this morning at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza. UNICEF extends our condolences to the families of the men killed. “…

PORT SUDAN/GENEVA, 14 April 2026 -, "After three devastating years of war, children in Sudan continue to bear the heaviest toll, with drones responsible for nearly 80 per cent of all reported child killings and injuries.  "As this conflict enters its fourth year, the reality for children in Sudan is growing darker hour by hour. In just the first three months of this year, at least…