COVID-19

Iramar do Socorro remembers March 2020 vividly. “It was frightening,” she says. “We stayed imprisoned, in our homes, we couldn’t leave. We were afraid.” That feeling of dread and that sense of fear as COVID-19 spread wasn’t unique to Socorro. It was global. But Socorro and her community were faced with a unique predicament. She lives in a remote…

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, resulting in disruptions to education at an unprecedented scale. In response to the urgent need to recover learning losses, countries worldwide have taken  RAPID: A framework to accelerate foundational learning RAPID  actions to: Reach every child and keep them…

We are in a learning crisis: more than half of the world’s 10-year-olds cannot read a simple text, and COVID-19 will likely further deepen this crisis. The situation is similarly dire when it comes to mathematics, the other knowledge domain singled out, alongside reading, for global monitoring by the Sustainable Development Goals. Girls worldwide…

This report was produced under a United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) project to support countries in designing and implementing disability-inclusive response and recovery planning for COVID-19. Throughout this project, UNICEF documented examples of good practice and learnings from partnerships with…

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)…

In Zulu, the phrase “Zwakala” means “come on over.” It’s often used among friends as an invitation. And in South Africa, “Zwakala” is now the theme of an innovative immunization campaign.    The campaign not only provides people with their COVID-19 shots, but also essential vaccinations for young children against diseases like polio, measles,…

For some it's a sense of duty. For others it's an obligation. And then there are those for which it’s a necessity.   Two years ago the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. Nobody knew exactly what lay ahead. But over the course of the following 24 months, extraordinary women and men have risen to the…, A Ugandan healthcare worker uses a megaphone to encourage her community to get vaccinated , When Judith Candiru was growing up, she always admired the white outfits nurses wore. For her, it was emblematic of the care they provided. Now she’s one of them. She takes pride in putting on that sharp uniform, complete with a yellow belt.   Judith Candiru, an Assistant Nursing Officer in the Yumbe District of Uganda, provides COVID-19…, Climbing mountains and crossing canyons in Nepal with vaccines on her back , Birma Kunwar has been weaving her way up mountains and across suspended footbridges for years now. With a box of vaccines perched on her back , she ascends hilly pathways in the remote part of Nepal’s far west.   Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Kunwar would collect lifesaving vaccines in the town of Khalanga, which is the district headquarters…, The teenage innovator whose invention is making handwashing safer , Emmanuel Cosmos Msoka is an innovator and an activist. It’s no coincidence that the 18-year-old from Tanzania invented a crucial hygiene tool during the pandemic that has a water theme to it.  “I was born at the foot of Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro," he says. The only place in my country where water turns to snow and ice.”  18-year-old…, Caring for her siblings while studying in times of loss  , Keysha is 14 years old. But her wisdom and thoughtfulness go beyond her years, as she’s had to grow up fast. Her mother, who worked at a restaurant, lost her life to COVID-19.  “Our mother worked 12-hour days when the restaurant opened for business again,” Keysha says. “Her immune system was weak, that’s probably why she got COVID.”  14-year-old…

“The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have been widespread and disproportionately affected vulnerable segments of the population, including children and their families. The modest progress made in reducing child poverty has been reversed in all parts of the world by COVID-19. Impact of COVID-19 on the welfare of households with children – a joint…

Today, the world is facing compounding humanitarian, environmental and economic crises that have spurred the migration and displacement of millions of children and their families. The number of internally displaced children, refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers and in some cases, returnees, has grown dramatically and is only set to increase in…

11 February marks the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. To celebrate the occasion, we're paying tribute to the incredible contribution of women to the COVID-19 response globally.  The coronavirus pandemic has put unprecedented pressure on health workers. Some are working around the clock to care for patients. Others are increasing…, Warriors on the ward in Haryana, India, India’s health system has been stretched to the breaking point many times during the pandemic, with the bulk of the caring burden on women.  Women are estimated to make up to 30 per cent of doctors and more than 80 per cent of nurses and midwives. Medical staff in India and around the world have saved millions of lives, often while risking their…, Men, follow my lead, Mariam is a Malian refugee. She became the first woman to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the M’Berra refugee camp, in south-east Mauritania.  “We often face misinformation," says Mariam, as she speaks about life in the camp. “Many people are illiterate, so it's 'word of mouth' that prevails. It is thanks to vaccination that we can all get out of…, Putting patients first, "I live with my husband, three children and my mother, who is 80 years old. I was still breastfeeding when I started work at the COVID-19 intensive care unit,” says Jennifer Boateng, a Senior Pharmacist at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital in Ghana.  “I was truly terrified of contracting the virus and putting my family at risk,” she remembers. “…, No one is safe until everyone is safe, Female health workers from a clinic in Kupang, Indonesia, travel to local communities to hold vaccination events. Indonesia has felt the impact of the pandemic, with one of the highest death tolls worldwide.  More than 25,000 children have lost at least one parent to COVID-19.  Across Indonesia, the COVID-19 response is also being supported by…, On the ground at the world's largest supply and logistics hub for children, Etleva Kadilli is the Director of UNICEF’s Supply Division, where women represent more than half of the workforce in a traditionally male-dominated sector. In 2021, over $6.2 billion worth of goods and services was procured by UNICEF. The pandemic brought an exponential demand for COVID-19-related supply items, such as personal protective…, Life-saving information, Victoria is a social mobilizer in Yambio, South Sudan. She's part of UNICEF's Social and Behaviour Change programme, which engages children, youth and communities on issues that affect them.  Access to information is an enormous challenge in South Sudan. Insecurity, displacement, illiteracy, poverty, gender inequities and the fact that 83 per cent…, The kids are on board, Twelve-year-old Jessica from the Himalaya Boarding School in Kathmandu, Nepal, receives a COVID-19 vaccine from a female health worker.  Nepal’s health service is bolstered by more than 50,000 female community health volunteers .   Their role has extended during the pandemic, to include informing the public about preventative measures, such as…, Incredibly dedicated, Daria Shulha, 32, is a doctor at Kharkiv’s Infectious Diseases Hospital in Ukraine. “We see patients at the stage that it will take an incredible effort to bring them back to life,” says Daria.  The intensive care department where Daria works has six beds. Some of her patients have been hospitalized for several weeks.  “After such a long time, you…, Sharing science to reduce hesitancy, Young women in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, listen to UNICEF’s Bérangère Antoine explain how and why the COVID-19 vaccines work.    At a workshop, one participant shares: “I was afraid to get vaccinated until now. After the awareness session, the fear diminishes.” UNICEF's Bérangère Antoine explains the benefits of the vaccine against COVID-19 during a…, Big sister! V is for vaccinated, Tomilyn, 10, holds her newborn baby sister in Buéa Regional Hospital, Cameroon. She was delivered by one of the world's 1.9 million midwives, 93 per cent of whom are women.  COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of serious illness if women get COVID-19 during pregnancy .  Tomilyn says that she already understands the importance of vaccinations and…

Pre-COVID-19, half of the world’s children were already unable to read a simple text by the age of 10. School closures have deepened pre-existing learning disparities, within and among countries, due to inequities in access to technology. This brief summarises research findings and provides actionable recommendations for how to equitably scale up…

The global disruption to education caused by the COVD-19 pandemic is without parallel and the effects on learning are severe. The crisis brought education systems across the world to a halt, with school closures affecting more than 1.6 billion learners. While nearly every country in the world offered remote learning opportunities for students, the…