Statement
UNICEF Regional Director condemns growing violence in the central Sahel - grave violations against children up by 70 per cent
DAKAR, 29 May 2024 –, “The distressing rise in violent incidents in the central Sahel region of West Africa (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger), including the killing of children, must stop if children are to realise their basic rights to life under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the United...
News note
Singing hope and peace for children and young people in West and Central Africa
Listen to the song and watch the video clip, here, ., DAKAR/COTONOU/LOME/OUAGADOUGOU, , 21 December 2022 – Committed to supporting African youth, UNICEF's national ambassadors Zeynab Abib of Benin, Smarty of Burkina Faso and the group Toofan of Togo have joined forces in a new song and video to encourage children and young people to keep hope alive in the face of the challenges facing West and Central Africa and to mobilize to…, About UNICEF, UNI...
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Building Resilience in the Sahel Programme
The Sahel region is prone to recurrent crisis, potentially reversing development gains, but it is also a land of opportunities. The communities there have shown extraordinary resilience to the shocks they face. With the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), UNICEF h...
Press release
The West and Central Africa region among the most affected by grave violations against children in armed conflict
DAKAR,, 23 November 2021 , – Since 2005, when a United Nations mechanism for monitoring and reporting on the six grave violations against children was established, West and Central Africa has been the region in the world with the highest number of children verified as recruited and used by armed forces and non-state armed groups and the highest number of children verified…, Note to editors: , , Download photos and B-Roll here, About UNICEF, ...
Press release
Vaillante, the UNICEF-produced mini-series on child marriage, screened at FESPACO
OUAGADOUGOU, 22 October 2021, – As part of the 27th edition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), the first episode of Vaillante, a mini-series produced by UNICEF, was screened in front of an audience composed of children and young people, representatives of technical and financial partners, civil society organisations, government…, About UNICEF, UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the...
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An open letter to the world’s children
Dear children of today and of tomorrow, Thirty years ago, against the backdrop of a changing world order – the fall of the Berlin Wall, the decline of apartheid, the birth of the world wide web – the world united in defence of children and childhood. While most of the world’s parents at the time had grown up unde...
Photo essay
Lighting up Children’s Rights
Black Star Gate - Accra, GHANA, Embedded video follows, Hotel Sofitel - Abidjan, CÔTE D'IVOIRE, Embedded video follows, Mary Slessor Statue , Calabar State - NIGERIA, Mary Slessor , Calabar State - NIGERIA, Palace of Emir, Bauchi State - NIGERIA, Emir House Bauchi, UN House, Abuja - NIGERIA, UN House, IOM Front Ya...
Article
Niger’s champions raise their voice to support child rights
NIAMEY (Niger), 18 November 2019 -, Ahead of World Children’s Day and the celebration of the 30 th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a community of champions raised their voice to support child rights in Niger. The UNICEF’s “Champions for Children” are prominent individuals from arts, m...
Article
Ending open defecation in Guinea-Bissau: It all starts under a mango tree
QUINARA, Guinea-Bissau ─, Using toilets and washing hands with soap is essential to keep children and families in good health. But in Guinea-Bissau, open defecation remains a deeply rooted practice. Going out in open spaces rather than using a toilet is a dangerous challenge: human waste near waterways and homes...