COVID-19

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)…

“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…

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…

Almost two years into the pandemic, the widespread impact of COVID-19 continues to deepen, increasing poverty and entrenching inequality. While some countries are recovering and rebuilding in a ‘new normal’, for many, COVID-19 remains a crisis. The human rights of all children are under threat to a degree that has not been seen in more than a…, COVID-19 is the biggest crisis for children in UNICEF's 75-year history, reversing hard-won progress. Without action, the world faces a lost decade for children, leaving the Sustainable Development Goals an impossible dream. In less than two years, 100 million more children have fallen into poverty, a 10 per cent increase since 2019. In a best-…, The danger, For the best-case scenario to become a reality, we must take action now. Even before the pandemic, around 1 billion children worldwide, and half of all children in developing countries, suffered at least one severe deprivation, without access to minimum levels of education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation, or water. The world stands at a…, But there’s hope, Far from feeling powerless in the face of challenge, today’s children and young people welcome change and challenges, forging ahead with resilience and courage. Rather than consigning themselves to an already determined future, they are taking action. Today’s young generation are more hopeful and confident that the world is becoming a better place…, What must happen, Make our collective future – our children - first in line for investment and last in line for cuts. This agenda for action is based on UNICEF’s 75 years of experience, research and practice and 75 years of listening to children and young people. To respond and recover and to reimagine the future for every child, UNICEF is calling for: Investing in…, PREVENTING A LOST DECADEUrgent action to reverse the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children and young people For 75 years, UNICEF has delivered for children. From armed conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian crises to long-term survival and development programmes, our staff and partners have been on the ground working to provide…

In the last decade, 25 million child marriages have been averted thanks to accelerated progress in eliminating the practice. However, the speed of elimination is not enough to meet the ambitious target of the Sustainable Development Goals: to end child marriage by 2030. Progress seen is now also under further threat due to the adverse impacts of…, Building on achievements since its inception in 2016, the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage launched its second phase in 2020, with an emphasis on gender-transformative and human rights-based programming, strengthened global partnerships and a clearly defined learning agenda. “COVID-19 has made an already difficult situation for…, UNFPA-UNICEF GLOBAL PROGRAMME TO END CHILD MARRIAGE ACT NOW: Accelerating gender equality by eliminating child marriage in a pandemic ANNUAL REPORT 2020 Co-funded bythe European Union Co-funded bythe European Union ACT NOW: Accelerating gender equality by eliminating child marriage in a pandemic UNFPA-UNICEF GLOBAL PROGRAMME TO END CHILD MARRIAGE…

The simple act of cleaning hands can save lives and reduce illness by helping prevent the spread of infectious diseases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hand hygiene received unprecedented attention and became a central pillar in national COVID prevention strategies. However, both access to the facilities to practice hand hygiene and support for the…

The year 2020 marked the launch of the ‘Decade of Action’, a global call for accelerating sustainable solutions to the world’s biggest challenges: inequality, poverty, and discrimination - to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. But with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic - school closures, disruptions in services, and rising…, FGM-2020-1 120,605  girls were saved from being subjected to FGM  FGM-2020-2 79,863,144   people were engaged through digital approaches and campaigns promoting FGM elimination  FGM-2020-3 2,156   communities involving 2,220,937 people made public declarations to abandon FGM FGM-2020-4 1,792   communities established surveillance systems to…, Sustaining the Momentum: Launching 2020 Annual Report of the Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation, September 2021, Sustaining the Momentum FGM Elimination and COVID-19: | ANNUAL REPORT 2020 Performance Report UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programmeon the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation: Accelerating Change Copyright UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation: Accelerating Change. All rights reserved. Cover photo credit: UNFPA…