No child should be hungry

Belgrade, 16 December 2022 – UNICEF Serbia has joined the global call for urgent fundraising for children affected by humanitarian emergencies caused by the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and wars, as well as for children in Serbia living in poverty.

Humanitarian emergencies are not bound by national borders. Conflict and crisis in one part of the world can impact the lives of children thousands of miles away. Today, there are more children in need of humanitarian assistance than at any other time in recent history.

More than 400 million children are living in areas under conflict. An estimated 1 billion children live in countries of extreme vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. At least 36.5 million children are displaced from their homes – the highest number ever recorded. And 8 million children under 5 across 15 crisis-hit countries are at risk of death from severe wasting.

The lives of millions of children in Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Haiti are at risk due to hunger. Failures of rainy seasons, the rise in food and energy prices, along with inflation, have led to an unprecedented hunger crisis.

In Serbia too, the most vulnerable are the most affected by the crisis. Due to the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 virus pandemic, there has been an increase in the risk of poverty, inequality and vulnerability for many children and families with children. In our country, one in twelve children cannot satisfy their basic life needs, and one in three children lives at risk of poverty, which has a very negative impact on all areas of children’s development and well-being.

Ahead of the holidays, when we exchange gifts and enjoy special holiday meals with those we care about, UNICEF Serbia has launched the NO CHILD SHOULD BE HUNGRY campaign and urged the community to show solidarity with the children who are in the greatest need.

The collected donations will enable UNICEF to provide assistance to the most vulnerable children around the world whose lives are at risk due to hunger and to help families and children in Serbia to overcome poverty.

All citizens and businesses in Serbia who want to respond to UNICEF’s call for donations can do so through the website donacije.unicef.rs or by payment to the account at Bank Intesa, account no.: 160-666-18, payment reference: No child should be hungry.