Humanitarian action and emergencies

UNICEF recognizes, respects and strengthens the leadership and capacity of local communities, civil society organizations and authorities in humanitarian action. Preparing national and subnational actors for future humanitarian responses will better address the needs of children affected by humanitarian crises. This edition of UNICEF’s annual…

The Latin America and the Caribbean region is home to one of the world’s largest and most complex child migration crises. ‘The Changing face of Child Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean: A region like no other’ examines the changing dynamics of child migration in the region through the lens of three key migration flows – northern Central…, chilren sitting on the floor reading, How many children are on the move? , Children are migrating through Latin America and the Caribbean in record numbers and now account for a larger share of the migrant population than in any other region in the world. Globally, children make up around 13 per cent of the migrant population, but they account for 25 per cent of people on the move in Latin America and the Caribbean. In…, What’s behind the crisis? , The root causes of migration in the region are highly variable, from socioeconomic factors like widespread poverty, limited livelihood opportunities, structural inequality, food insecurity and barriers to essential services, to a desire among families to secure a more hopeful future for their children. People may also leave their countries to…, Migrant journeys are long and dangerous… , families stepping of a small boat Families arrive at Lajas Blancas in Panama after crossing through the Darien jungle. The physical risks along these irregular routes are innumerable, especially for migrant children. In 2022, at least 92 migrant children died or went missing while moving through the region, more than any other year since 2014.…, …and marked by growing diversity, hand drawn poster A note included in a UNICEF-supported interactive exhibit called "Voices of Migrants" is displayed at the Museum of Tapachula in Mexico. More and more children are on the move of an increasingly young age, often alone and from diverse countries of origin, including as far away as Africa and Asia. The major flows in child…, With some groups particularly vulnerable, While all refugee and migrant children are likely to face limited access to services in transit or upon reaching their destinations, some groups are especially vulnerable, including children with disabilities, children identifying as LGBTQI+ and children from indigenous groups. Multiple studies have shown that indigenous children don’t have…, How is UNICEF responding?, A smiling little girl is getting washed by her mother in a big sink. A mother bathes her child at a migrant reception station in Panama. Regardless of the reasons for leaving their country of origin, or their migratory or legal status, children on the move and their families have rights, including protection and safe access to basic services.…, What is UNICEF calling for?, Most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are simultaneously points of origin, transit, destination and return. This means that an all-of-region, integrated approach will be needed to protect all refugee and migrant children and to alleviate the root causes of irregular and forced migration. mural of the silhuette of a person carrying a…, UNICEF CHILD ALERT September 2023 The Changing Face of Child Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean A region like no other 1 UNICEF CHILD ALERT SEPTEMBER 2023 Cover photo: Panama, 2023 UNICEF/UN0854849/Urdaneta UNICEF CHILD ALERT Contents I. Overview 1 II. Movement patterns 4 III. Root causes 9 IV. Dangerous journeys 15 V. Barriers to…

Ten million children in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are in dire need of humanitarian assistance – twice as many as in 2020 – largely due to spiralling conflict, while nearly 4 million children are at risk in neighbouring countries as hostilities between armed groups and national security forces spill across borders. 'Extreme Jeopardy' looks at…, Benin. Two brothers sit outside their home in Tanguieta, northern Benin. Two brothers sit outside their home in Tanguieta, northern Benin., What’s happening in the central Sahel? , Caught between armed groups, national security operations and intercommunal violence children are finding themselves directly targeted by non-state armed groups who operate across large areas of the region. 2022 was a particularly violent year for children in the central Sahel, almost certainly the deadliest since armed conflict broke out in…, The crisis is marked by attacks on infrastructure…, Burkina Faso. A girl drinks water from a tap at a playground in Burkina Faso. A girl drinks water from a tap at a playground in Burkina Faso. In Burkina Faso, attacks include sabotaging water networks – cutting power lines and destroying generators or electrical panels at pumping stations that feed urban water supply systems – and damaging manual…, …and education, Niger. A boy writes on a chalkboard in Niger. A boy writes on a chalkboard in Niger. Some armed groups that oppose state-administered education burn and loot schools, and threaten, abduct or kill teachers. By 2022, more than 8,300 schools had shut down across the central Sahel because they were directly targeted, teachers had fled, or because…, A changing climate is layering one crisis on top of another, Côte d'Ivoire. Women and children collect water in Tougbo, in the north of Côte d’Ivoire. Women and children collect water in Tougbo, in the north of Côte d’Ivoire. The central Sahel is one of the most climate-affected and water-scarce regions on the planet. Temperatures are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average. Water tables have…, It’s time to turn the page, Burkina Faso. A child waves at site for internally displaced persons. A child waves at a site for internally displaced children and families in Barsalogho, in the north central region of Burkina Faso. UNICEF urges governments across the central Sahel and affected coastal countries, along with technical and financial partners, to prioritize…, How UNICEF is helping, Burkina Faso. A boy walks into a school in Kaya, in the north central region of Burkina Faso. A boy walks into a school in Kaya, in the north central region of Burkina Faso. UNICEF has a large operational footprint in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, with almost 600 staff members working across the three national offices and 12 sub-offices, including…, Ten million children in the central Sahel need humanitarian assistance amid spiralling conflict and punishing climate. U NIC EF/ UN 05 381 08 /Ke ta EXTREME JEOPARDY UNICEF | CHILD ALERT | March 2023 BeninGhana TogoCte dIvoire BurkinaFaso NigerMali EXTREME JEOPARDY: TEN MILLION CHILDREN IN THE CENTRAL SAHEL NEED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AMID…

UNICEF remains committed to establishing effective linkages between its humanitarian action and development programming, contributing to peacebuilding and supporting countries to strengthen capacities and systems. This edition of UNICEF’s annual Humanitarian Action for Children highlights UNICEF’s funding appeal, which sets out an ambitious agenda…

This factsheet contains updated evidence on the situation of children with disabilities globally. It is aimed at policymakers, programmers and advocates working to include children with disabilities in international development and humanitarian action. It provides a snapshot of the situation of children with disabilities and the main barriers they…

Working in close collaboration with a coalition of governments, United Nations agencies, civil society organizations and other partners, UNICEF child protection (Goal Area 3) teams around the world were able to deliver a wide array of results across 153 countries, including to 124 new and ongoing humanitarian situations. Scaled-up interventions,…, 4.4 million children who experienced violence reached with related services (129 countries)  3 million parents and caregivers reached with UNICEF-supported parent education programmes (94 countries) Accelerating national progress to reduce all forms of violence  Across countries, the number of children experiencing violence who received health,…, child-soldier Child protection in humanitarian action, 12 million children, adolescents. parents and caregivers accessed mental health and psychosocial support  13.9 million women, girls and boys provided with risk mitigation, prevention or response interventions to address gender-based violence (89 countries) 61 million children and adults could access safe and accessible UNICEF-supported sexual…, portrait-girl Strengthening prevention and delivery of protection services to reduce harmful practices, Nearly 7.6 million adolescent girls were reached with UNICEF-supported child marriage prevention and care interventions (47 countries) Nearly 800k girls and women received UNICEF-supported prevention and protection services on FGM over the Strategic Plan 2018-2021 period Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF and partners have adapted to…, Mother-and-child Promoting access to justice, birth registration and alternative care, Over 45,000 children were released across at least 84 countries since the start of of the COVID-19 pandemic after an unprecedented global call for the immediate release of children from detention 13.9 million birth notifications were received (52 countries) 41 countries have comprehensive policies and programmes in line with the 2009 Guidelines…, portrait-girl Looking forward, UNICEF will continue to advocate for putting child rights at the heart of economic plans and priorities as countries continue to fight poverty within their borders and rebuild systems shattered by the pandemic.  UNICEF’s new Child Protection Strategy, 2021–2030 , launched in 2021, provides a pivotal opportunity to build on our experiences and…, With thanks, This report highlights the achievements made possible by the generous contributions of softly earmarked thematic funding received from various partners. UNICEF would like to express it's sincere appreciation for these contributions., Read more and support our work, June 2022, Global Annual Results Report 2021 GOAL AREA 3 Every child is protected from violence and exploitation Cover image: UNICEF/UN0484305/UNICEF Afghanistan Children playing outside with hula-hoops at Child Friendly Space built by UNICEF in Balkh, a northern province of Afghanistan. Expression of thanks: UNICEF/UN0456813/Fuad Hands of a young girl (15)…

Children and families in humanitarian emergencies around the world lack affordable, accessible and high-quality childcare. This is especially important during the acute onset stage of emergencies, where no existing childcare models are available and service delivery is more challenging. This lack of childcare has significant consequences for the…

Most people have never heard of wasting, also known as ‘severe acute malnutrition.’ But it is one of the leading underlying causes of preventable deaths in young children. Conflicts, and climate crises that destroy access to healthy diets, are causing that number to rise. But even in fairly stable countries, child wasting has been on the rise. ‘…, What is severe wasting? Wasting, defined as low weight-for-height, is the most visible and lethal type of malnutrition. Severe wasting, also known as severe acute malnutrition, is its most deadly form. It is caused by a lack of nutritious food and repeated bouts of diseases such as diarrhoea, measles and malaria, which compromise a child’s…, An escalating problem…, Ethiopia. A woman walks past shelters at a site for internally displaced persons. A woman walks past shelters at a site for internally displaced persons in Ethiopia. Countries across a variety of regions have seen a rise in wasting levels since 2016. There’s no single reason for this alarming rise. But cases are rapidly increasing in areas…, …and a largely invisible one, Cambodia. A woman holds her daughter who suffers from severe acute malnutrition. A woman in Ten Ngol village, Cambodia, sits with her daughter, who suffers from severe acute malnutrition. About a quarter of children suffering from severe wasting live in emergency contexts that generate news headlines, often with images of excruciatingly emaciated…, But it’s preventable and treatable, Venezuela. A boy eats a ready-to-use therapeutic food during a nutrition screening day in Zulia. A boy eats a ready-to-use therapeutic food during a nutrition screening day in Zulia, Venezuela. A relatively small additional investment – by donors, governments and other financial instruments – would dramatically reduce child death rates. And it…, How is UNICEF responding?, Mauritania. A UNICEF nutrition specialist holds a malnourished baby at a nutrition rehabilitation centre. A UNICEF nutrition specialist holds a malnourished baby at a nutrition rehabilitation centre in Nouakchott, Mauritania. In southern Madagascar, UNICEF provided life-saving treatment to more than 60,000 severely wasted children in 2021 – four…, What is UNICEF calling for?, Donors and governments to fully fund the Global Action Plan to scale up treatment on a massive scale, provide multi-year funding that will enable continuous services, and cover treatment for child wasting under health and long-term development funding. Donors to ensure that budget allocations to address the global hunger crisis include specific…, UNICEF CHILD ALERT May 2022 An overlooked child survival emergency Severe wasting UNICEF CHILD ALERT Severe wasting An overlooked child survival emergency Contents Key messages 1 Foreword 3 The global scope and impact of child wasting 4 Box 1: Ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF): the gold standard for wasting treatment 8 Box 2: The Mid-Upper Arm…

UNICEF remains committed to establishing effective linkages between its humanitarian action and development programming, contributing to peacebuilding and supporting countries to strengthen capacities and systems. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered unprecedented global health, humanitarian, socio-economic and human rights crisis,…, Get the latest data, research and analysis on the issues affecting children around the world., Browse all UNICEF publications, Discover our latest reports and explore by topic. December 2021, 1 ] 2022 2022 3 2 ] 2022 4 7 8 12 2021 14 2021 20 -19 23 2022 28 2022 32 2022 34 2022 5 4 ] 2022 . . 75 . . . / 1946 . . . 75 . . -19 . . -2009 . : 9 . . . . . 23,946 - 72 . : 2015 10,000 . 400 . . - . 82 . 42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 . . -19 -19 . - . . . . . 177 52 . . . . . . 75 . - . . 2022 7 6 ] 2022 . )( . . . 2021 35 82.4 ) 42 ( 1…

The Humanitarian Review examines UNICEF’s humanitarian operations in the context of the global challenges of the 21st century: rapid rises in the number, scale, duration and complexity of humanitarian crises; climate breakdown and the impact of extreme weather events; large-scale migration and displacement of populations; significant public health…

The latest version of the report explains the importance of investing in global humanitarian thematic funding, outlines the 2020 global humanitarian thematic funding country-level allocations and key contributors, and provides case studies from around the world. July 2021

The latest version of the report explains the importance of investing in global humanitarian thematic funding, outlines the 2019 global humanitarian thematic funding country-level allocations and key contributors, and provides case studies from around the world. March 2020