Armed conflict

ABUJA, Nigeria, 15 April 2024 – As Nigeria marks 10 years since the mass Chibok abductions in the Northeast, 90 girls remain in captivity, and the country is recovering from another abduction of schoolchildren in Kaduna state in March of this year. UNICEF is calling for intensified efforts to protect the country's most vulnerable population—its…

BANGKOK, 4 April 2024 – New data released by UNICEF reveals an alarming increase in civilian casualties – including many children – caused by the use of landmines and other explosive ordnance used by different parties in the escalating conflict in Myanmar.   Data released by UNICEF on International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance shows that…

“UNICEF is appalled by the deaths of four school children and two teachers as the result of an air strike on two schools in Kayah state, eastern Myanmar, on Monday. “The children who died were aged between 12 and 14. Many more were injured. More than 100 children were in school at the time of the strikes. “UNICEF strongly condemns any strikes…

ABUJA, 14 April 2023 – Nine years after 276 schoolgirls were abducted in the middle of the night from their dormitory in Chibok, Nigeria, 96 girls remain in captivity, and thousands more children have been subjected to grave violations of their rights. As recently as 7 April 2023, 80 children were reportedly abducted by militants in Zamfara State'…

Maria, age 12, submitted a poem after leaving Odessa, Ukraine.   NEW YORK, 21 March 2023 – In commemoration of World Poetry Day, hundreds of children and young people around the world have published poems to highlight their experiences of conflict and war, and to call for peace, as part of UNICEF’s Poems for Peace initiative . Now in its fourth…

YANGON, 19 September 2022 - On 16 September, at least 11 children died in an air strike and indiscriminate fire in civilian areas, including a school in Tabayin Township, Sagaing Region of Myanmar. While more details are still being verified, UNICEF offers condolences to the parents and families who lost their children. At least 15 children from…

Updated 12 May 2024, What is the Rohingya crisis? , When hundreds of thousands of terrified Rohingya refugees began flooding onto the beaches and paddy fields of southern Bangladesh in August 2017, it was the children who caught many people’s attention. As the refugees – almost 60 per cent of whom were children – poured across the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh, they brought with them accounts…, How is the Rohingya crisis affecting children?, While basic services have been provided, children still face disease outbreaks, malnutrition, inadequate educational opportunities and the risks related to neglect, exploitation and violence including gender-based violence risks, child marriage and child labour. Meanwhile, annual cycles of heavy monsoon and cyclones pose substantial risks to both…, Crisis snapshot, What is UNICEF doing to help Rohingya children? , UNICEF has been on the ground in the refugee camps in Bangladesh from day one, and is still there for every Rohingya refugee child who needs clean water, health care, protection, nutritious food and education.  Working with the Government of Bangladesh and partners, UNICEF is helping provide water and sanitation, including the establishment of…, Recent Rohingya crisis news and features, What UNICEF is doing, Working with the government and partners, UNICEF is helping provide water and sanitation, including the establishment of diarrhoeal treatment centres, health services for children and pregnant women; support for access to quality education, including establishing learning centres; and is reaching children affected by violence, abuse and neglect…, Donate now to help save and change children’s lives, Results for Rohingya families, In 2023, UNICEF and partners:, More resources

ABUJA, 2 March 2021 – “We are relieved at the news of the reported release of over 200 students of the Government Girls’ Secondary School Jangebe in Zamfara State, north-west Nigeria, who were kidnapped during an overnight attack at their school in the early hours of the morning on Friday 26 February. “While we rejoice at the release of the…

Conflict is taking a devastating toll on education. This must not become a forgotten crisis, Thirty years after governments around the world adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child , the right to an education is being violated in communities hit by conflict in West and Central Africa. Right now, nearly two million children are being robbed of an education in the region due to violence and insecurity in and around their schools.…, West and Central Africa crisis at a glance, en child alert.png This map is stylized and not to scale. It does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or area or the delimitation of any frontiers. The final boundary between the Sudan and South Sudan has not yet been determined. What’s happening? Many areas in West and Central Africa are witnessing increased…, Learning in peril, When education is under attack, safe schooling in the traditional sense becomes impossible to provide. The threat of attacks creates a sense of fear in local communities, forcing schools to close, teachers to flee and school children to remain at home, unable to learn in classrooms with their peers. Cameroon. A child stands in a classroom in…, Voices from the region, UNICEF UNICEF Display caption Show Original Caption Display caption Show Original Caption South Sudan. A girl completes school work in a classroom in Yambio, South Sudan. UNICEF/UN0272634/Holt Mary, who was once abducted by an armed group, completes school work in a classroom in Yambio, South Sudan. Nigeria. A girl pushes her hand against a screen…, How is UNICEF helping?, While a classroom is preferable, it is not the only place to provide learning activities. For example, UNICEF and the Children’s Radio Foundation have been collaborating since 2016 on designing and piloting the first-of-its-kind Radio Education in Emergencies programme. UNICEF has also been creating temporary learning centres, which provide a…, Call to action, UNICEF and partners call on governments, armed forces, other parties to conflict and the international community to take concerted action to stop attacks and threats against schools, students, teachers and other school personnel in West and Central Africa – and to support quality learning for every child in the region. To reach these goals: States…

ABUJA, Nigeria, 17 June 2019 – “UNICEF condemns the use of children as human bombs and in any combat or non-combat roles in the conflict in north-east Nigeria. “According to several reports, three children - two girls and a boy (ages unknown) – were used to detonate explosives that killed 30 people and injured 40 others at a community football…

Shattered glass. Rubble from shell-smashed ceilings strewn across floors. Walls pockmarked by bullets. These rooms are no place for a child. Except, they are supposed to be. Because they are classrooms, or what is left of them. Around the world, attacks on children continue unabated, as warring parties flout one of the most basic rules of war: the…

BORNO, Nigeria – Fati* smiles, waving as the van pulls out of the transit centre in which she has stayed for two months. After being held for three years by a Boko Haram faction in northeast Nigeria, she is finally going home to her family. Not so long ago, she feared she might not ever see them again. A childhood interrupted In 2015, then 14-year…