Content Topic
Child protection
Recommended resources
Programme
Child Protection
We work to make sure every child can realize their right to grow up in a safe environment, protected from violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect.
Programme
Violence against children
UNICEF works with partners to prevent and respond to violence against children. It aims to reduce violence at home, at school, in the community and online,
Programme
Children separated from their families
A child has the right to know her/his parents, and be raised in a family environment. However, children can be separated from their families for a variety o
Programme
Civil registration
Across the region, UNICEF is working to ensure that by 2030, all births that happen within a country are registered.
More resources
Report
Meta-synthesis and meta-analysis of evidence on child marriage in South Asia
This study highlights effective strategies to prevent child marriage in South Asia, offering insights to inform programming and advocacy. It emphasizes shifting the focus from mere school attendance to improving girls' academic achievement, skill acquisition, and preparation for economic opportunities, which more ...
Report
Partnering with women-led organisations to address child marriage in South Asia
Addressing child marriage requires a gender-transformative approach to programming and policy-making. This means implementing programmes that operate within communities to rebalance power by transforming social norms, redistributing resources, enabling access to quality basic services and building agency for those...
Article
Advika – Empowering Girls in a Unique Way
“Everyone told my mother to marry me off. They said, ‘Now that you have married your elder daughter, how do you expect to sustain yourself with such a small shop and at the same time send your daughter to engineering college?’ My mother was influenced by their words and told me that I must get married. I refused!...
Press release
An alarming rate of blood lead levels among children: UNICEF urges the Interim Government for a strategy for a lead-free Bangladesh
DHAKA 5 November 2024, - With a commitment to end the debilitating and life-threatening effects on children of lead poisoning, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), jointly with UNICEF, organized a national workshop today, marking the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. The wor...
Press release
35 children die in Nepal after devastating rainfall and landslides – UNICEF
KATHMANDU, 1 October 2024, – Heavy rainfall in the past days has caused widespread flooding in Nepal, affecting thousands of children and their families, UNICEF said today. According to early estimates by authorities, around 217 people, including 35 children, have lost their lives, with many others injured or miss...
Press release
Two million children at risk as worst floods in three decades lash through eastern Bangladesh - UNICEF
DHAKA, 30 August 2024, – Over two million children in eastern Bangladesh are at risk as floods sweep through homes, schools and villages, UNICEF has warned. In all, these floods, the worst in eastern Bangladesh in 34 years, have affected 5.6 million people. Major rivers in the southeast are overflowing due to unpr...
Press release
Seven years after forced mass displacement of Rohingya from Myanmar, deadly attacks on children continue in Rakhine State
NEW YORK/KATHMANDU/BANGKOK, 25 August 2024 –, Seven years after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people fled violence and persecution in Myanmar, conflict continues to intensify in Rakhine State, on the western coast of Myanmar, with a surge in casualties and displacement in Maungdaw Township and reports of incre...
Blog post
Investing in opportunities for married, pregnant and parenting adolescents
“How can you – how will you – help us get back to school and support us to build skills so that we can work?” Geetu, 18 years. Married at 16, and pregnant shortly thereafter, Geetu endured a difficult labour. Too weak to give birth naturally, she had a caesarean section. Born weighing only 1.5 kg, her daughter re...
Article
Harnessing Talent
290 million., That is the number of child brides in South Asia. For too many girls, in too many countries across the region, marrying and giving birth not only signals the end of childhood, it also signals the end of learning and opportunity. UNICEF, in partnership with the South Asia Association for Regional Coo...
Press release
Nearly 400 million young children worldwide regularly experience violent discipline at home – UNICEF
NEW YORK, 11 June 2024 , — Nearly 400 million children under 5 — or 6 in 10 children within that age group globally — regularly endure psychological aggression or physical punishment at home, according to new UNICEF estimates. Of them, around 330 million are punished by physical means. The findings also emphasize ...
Report
What Works for Girls in South Asia
Adolescents in South Asia face numerous challenges in accessing health, education, water and sanitation, child protection and social protection services. Girls are further burdened by unremunerated care responsibilities within households. Adolescents in South Asia are also affected by pervasive gender-based violen...
Article
A Tale of Triumph: A Mother's Resilience in Mullaithivu
Latha is returning from school with her sister Neetha, trudging through the muddy road with heavy bags on their shoulders but with smiles on their faces. Latha’s family resides in the small town of Mullaithivu in northern Sri Lanka. “I went through countless sleepless nights and wet pillows missing my mother,” Lat...