Humanitarian action and emergencies

The war in the Gaza Strip is weighing heavily on young people – on their day-to-day lives and also their hopes for the future. Marwa, a fourth-year medical student at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, wants to become a surgeon – a dream that like so many others is now on hold.  She spoke with UNICEF a few months ago, and although her family has been…, Part 1: Sometimes I feel it’s driving me mad, Marwa describes a typical day with her family, how the war has made her feel, and why it’s sometimes impossible to get any sleep. It’s not death that we fear. It’s surviving death. Click play for audio experience Listen to Part 1 by Marwa Transcript Transcript “Every day, we wake up at 5 a.m. My brothers bring us water from the nearby houses in…, Part 2: Praying that it doesn’t rain, In the second exchange with UNICEF, Marwa shares the challenges her family have experienced during their most recent evacuation since the fighting escalated in October 2023. It rained so much that night. I can’t imagine how it would have been like if we slept in the street. Click play for audio experience Listen to Part 2 by Marwa Transcript…, Part 3: A hurricane of feelings, In the third conversation, Marwa describes the emotions she has been experiencing since the war erupted. Marwa with her family UNICEF Click play for audio experience Listen to Part 3 by Marwa Transcript Transcript UNICEF I entered medical school because I wanted to save people’s lives. Now, I’m helpless to save even the lives of the people I love…

Months of escalating conflict have turned the Gaza Strip into the most dangerous place in the world to be a child.   Every child across Gaza has been exposed to deeply distressing events, witnessing horrors that no child should. Around 1.7 million people are estimated to have been internally displaced by the violence, half of them children.…

More than three months of escalating conflict, killing and bombardments have left families in Gaza reeling. Each day, children face the risk of death from the sky, disease from lack of safe water, and dangerous shortages of food. Thousands of children have died and thousands more are left confronting a deadly triple threat of conflict, disease,…, Safety, Gaza Strip. A boy walks over the rubble of his destroyed home in Gaza City. A boy walks over the rubble of his destroyed home in Gaza City. Nowhere is safe in the Gaza Strip. The ongoing conflict means that it’s incredibly difficult for UNICEF and partners to move safely across the Gaza Strip and to gain access to children and families in need.…, Logistics, Gaza Strip. People walk past destroyed buildings in the centre of Gaza City. People walk past destroyed buildings in the centre of Gaza City. There aren’t enough trucks and there isn’t enough fuel to operate those that are available. Trucks carrying relief must undergo multiple layers of inspection before entering the Gaza Strip, but the…, Restrictions on commercial goods , Supplies of everyday essentials aren’t getting in to replenish markets. Without the ability to produce or import food, the entire population of Gaza relies on aid to survive. The United Nations, international aid agencies and non-governmental organizations have managed to deliver limited assistance in Gaza, but humanitarian aid alone cannot meet…

“At first, I was scared of injections,” Leen says as she remembers how she used to feel when it came time to get vaccinated. “But I saw what happened to children who weren’t vaccinated. They got a fever and a red rash because they had measles.” Leen is just 10 years-old, but she has already seen the life-saving potential of routine immunization.…, Troubling trend, Measles and rubella are highly contagious and major causes of child mortality and congenital disabilities, yet both diseases can be prevented through vaccination. By late November 2023, a total of 50,795 suspected cases of measles and rubella had been reported in Yemen, resulting in more than 560 associated deaths – a sharp increase from the 27,…, Empowered and proud, Although children are signing up on an individual, voluntary basis to be sponsors, they are given a chance to participate in joint activities with other child sponsors and are also provided with useful school items – an important incentive for children from the poorest households. In addition, the sponsor initiative is conducted in partnership…

Thousands of children have been killed and thousands more injured across the Gaza Strip. Children are still being held hostage. Their basic rights to life and health are being denied, day after day. The loss and trauma they are experiencing will be borne out for generations to come.   Children bear no responsibility for war, but they suffer its…

The fear and upheaval that families in Sudan are facing is almost impossible to imagine. Ongoing conflict has forced tens of thousands of children and their families to leave their homes. Thousands have fled across the country’s borders in search of safety. Others have been internally displaced – their situations precarious, their futures in the…, UNICEF is supporting Sudan’s children with health and nutrition services, Sudan. A child waits for a screening at a nutrition centre in Abushok. A child waits for a screening at a nutrition centre in Abushok, Sudan. Humanitarian crises can have a devastating impact on children's health, including access to nutrition. Conflicts are often marked by limited access to nutritious, safe and affordable food as well as…, Ensuring access to safe water, Egypt. Portable toilets and water tanks are installed at the Qastal border crossing between Egypt and Sudan. Portable toilets and water tanks are installed at the Qastal border crossing between Egypt and Sudan. Water and sanitation systems are often vulnerable to attack during conflict. A lack of adequate, safe water and sanitation and hygiene…, Providing psychosocial support, Sudan. Two children walk hand-in-hand near a temporary shelter in Port Sudan. Two children walk hand-in-hand near a temporary shelter in Port Sudan. Thousands of children have experienced deeply traumatic events or have been driven from their homes in search of relative safety since the conflict erupted. Violence can take a lifelong toll on…, And helping children to keep learning – safely, Sudan. A child places a drawing on the wall of a child-friendly space in Egypt. A child places a drawing on the wall of a child-friendly space in Egypt. For children living through emergencies, education is about more than the right to learn. Schools protect children from the physical dangers around them – including abuse and exploitation. They…

ATMEH, Syria – The main road in Atmeh, a town in northwest Syria near the border with Türkiye, cuts through a busy market. It’s bustling here now, full of traders doing their best to make ends meet as they recover from the catastrophic earthquakes and aftershocks that rocked the region in early February 2023. We continue past the marketplace along…

KAHRAMANMARAŞ, Türkiye – “She must have sensed it,” Zeynep says, remembering the night before the earthquake. She says her daughter Elanur, 5, usually loves sleeping in her own bed. “She never had problems sleeping like some other kids do.”   But on this particular night Elanur decided to make up a bed on the floor. Zeynep will forever be thankful…

While the scale of catastrophe is still emerging, the impact of the earthquakes that struck Syria and Türkiye on 6 February is clear.  Tens of thousands of people died following the initial earthquakes and aftershocks, with hundreds of thousands more left facing unimaginable uncertainty and hardship. Families with children are sleeping in the…, Providing safe drinking water, children filling up water cans with clean water On 10 February 2023, children and families fill jerrycans with clean water at a distribution point in Almyassar neighbourhood, in Aleppo, Syria. The destruction of homes and vital infrastructure disrupts families’ access to safe drinking water, toilets and other sanitation facilities. Such…, Supporting health and nutrition services , Health worker measures the upper arm circumference. On 10 February 2023, four-year-old Hamzeh is screened for malnutrition by a UNICEF-supported mobile health team in Alsalheen neighbourhood, Aleppo, Syria. Numerous hospitals and medical facilities have been damaged or destroyed by the quakes. With the disruption in access to essential health…, Shipping essential supplies , Offloading of emergency supplies from an aircraft On 14 February 2023, emergency supplies shipped from UNICEF's Global Supply and Logistics Hub in Copenhagen, Denmark, arrive in Damascus, Syria, to be deployed as part of UNICEF’s response to the earthquakes. Hundreds of thousands of children and families have been left facing desperate conditions…, Providing psychosocial support , A girl with a red winter jacket stands in line with her father. A girl holds her father's hand outside a temporary shelter, days following the earthquake, in Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye. The earthquakes have upended the lives of millions of children across Syria and Türkiye – many of whom have lost their families, friends, homes and schools. Children…, Helping children continue their education , Children sitting on plastic chairs in a circle outside tents listening to a woman. Children receive psychosocial support and care at a temporary shelter in Gaziantep, Türkiye, on 16 February 2023. Many children who have lost their homes have also lost the safety of their schools, along with their most foundational spaces for learning. Schools…

Conflict, climate change and poverty are driving massive humanitarian crises, leaving millions at risk of famine. Children are the most vulnerable during periods of famine and extreme food insecurity, facing a greater likelihood of severe malnutrition and death. These crises also produce irreversible, life-long consequences for children, leading…, How UNICEF is helping, UNICEF’s support to children and their families includes immediate lifesaving interventions and building resilience over the long term. Included in these are: Working with partners on building resilience for communities affected by high or extremely high water vulnerability, in part through groundwater extraction. Drilling for reliable sources of…

Gaza’s children have been left reeling from the violent escalation in conflict in May 2021. Lives have been lost and families shattered, with devastating impacts on children. In Gaza, schools and health facilities have been damaged, homes and offices have been flattened, and entire families have been displaced. In Israel, schools, homes and…

In times of crisis, children suffer the most. The COVID-19 pandemic is no different. The impacts of this pandemic will be felt for years to come, but it’s already clear that COVID-19 has exacerbated poverty and inequality in conflict-affected countries, adding massive pressure to already overwhelmed social and health systems. The result is more…