Education

In recent years, Bangladesh has made significant progress in addressing the mental health needs of its citizens. In 2018, the country approved a Mental Health Act and developed a mental health policy that prioritises community-based services and support. However, it was only during the COVID-19 pandemic, when all educational institutions were…

GENEVA, 29 August 2023 – “Attacks on schools have continued unabated throughout the war in Ukraine. “Just last week teachers were among the casualties of an attack on a civilian area in the city of Romny. The attack ripped through a school where teachers were preparing lessons for the new school year. On the same day, a kindergarten in Kherson…

GENEVA/KYIV, 29 August 2023 – Children across Ukraine are showing signs of widespread learning loss, including a deterioration in learning outcomes of the Ukrainian language, reading and mathematics, as the war preceded by the COVID-19 pandemic have left students facing a fourth year of disruption to education. “Inside Ukraine, attacks on schools…

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh, 23 July 2023 – Against the odds of displacement, fires burning down learning centres, and Cyclone Mocha’s wrath, classrooms in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh are filling up today with children, excited on the first day of school. Thanks to expanded education opportunities for teenagers and girls, a record 300,000…

KYIV/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 24 January 2023 – The ongoing war in Ukraine has disrupted education for more than five million children, UNICEF warned today, calling for increased international support to ensure children do not fall further behind. The impact of 11 months of conflict only compounds the two years of lost learning due to the COVID-19…

When the war in Ukraine broke out, Kateryna, a mother of two, quickly packed up some essentials – diapers, clothes – and left the family home in the village of Kryukivshchyna, close to Kyiv. She didn’t take much. She didn’t think she needed to. “We left everything, because it didn’t feel like we were leaving home. I never imagined that we wouldn’t…, Building a new life in Poland and accessing health services, Poland has welcomed more Ukrainian refugees than any other country - almost 1.4 million people have registered there. Many are children, so their needs are at the heart of the refugee response.   The park is a short walk from home, so Mykyta gets to play outdoors most days. UN0705576, The park is a short walk from home, so Mykyta gets to play outdoors most days., UNICEF & U.S. CDC/UN0705576/Strek Mykyta’s aunt, 13-year-old Daryna, pretends to take a picture of him with a toy camera. UN0705586, Mykyta’s aunt, 13-year-old Daryna, pretends to take a picture of him with a toy camera., UNICEF & U.S. CDC/UN0705586/Strek Matviy enjoys yoghurt for breakfast in his highchair. UN0705551, Matviy enjoys yoghurt for breakfast in his highchair., UNICEF & U.S. CDC/UN0705551/Strek Mykyta on the balcony at his new home. UN0705580, Mykyta on the balcony at his new home., UNICEF & U.S. CDC/UN0705580/Strek The park is a short walk from home, so Mykyta gets to play outdoors most days. Mykyta’s aunt, 13-year-old Daryna, pretends to take a picture of him with a toy camera. Matviy enjoys yoghurt for breakfast in his highchair. Mykyta on the balcony at his new home. Kateryna quickly registered the children at UNIMED…, Mykyta after receiving his immunizations from the nurse, Ewelina Tytula. He is protected against measles, mumps and rubella with the MMRvaX Pro vaccine; diphtheria, tetanus, and polio types 1, 2 and 3 with the Tetraxim vaccine; and chickenpox using the Varilrix vaccine., UNICEF & U.S. CDC/UN0705561/Strek Part of the service includes a general check-up with the doctor. UN0705558, Part of the service includes a general check-up with the doctor., UNICEF & U.S. CDC/UN0705558/Strek Matviy also receives vaccinations, protecting him against the same diseases as his older brother. UN0705564, Matviy also receives vaccinations, protecting him against the same diseases as his older brother., UNICEF & U.S. CDC/UN0705564/Strek Mykyta is given some stickers and a certificate for being a “brave patient”. UN0705560, Mykyta is given some stickers and a certificate for being a “brave patient”., UNICEF & U.S. CDC/UN0705560/Strek Mykyta after receiving his immunizations from the nurse, Ewelina Tytula. Part of the service includes a general check-up with the doctor. Matviy also receives vaccinations, protecting him against the same diseases as his older brother. Mykyta is given some stickers and a certificate for being a “brave patient”., Making new friends and building confidence on the football field, In addition to getting the vaccinations her children need, Kateryna is also focused on making sure her two boys can participate in activities they enjoy and that they make new friends. “Mykyta is so sociable that he’ll find friends everywhere,” she says. “I found an advertisement for a football club. It turned out that the coach is from Ukraine,…, New beginnings at a new school, While Kateryna is happy that Mykyta is meeting other children, she has been worrying about what’s next for his education. Over the summer, she says she wasn’t even sure where Mykyta’s first day of class would be. Like so many parents who have been forced to uproot their children, Kateryna was finding it difficult to make plans amid the constantly…, After a long day, there's no place like home, The family back at home at the end of a school day. Back at their new apartment, Kateryna stretches the fun day of activities into the evening, just like she did in Kryukivshchyna – the village she and her family had to flee.  Bedtime stories are part of their daily routine. Bedtime stories are part of their nightly routine. “I instilled in Mykyta…

KYIV/NEW YORK, 1 September 2022 – The ongoing war in Ukraine has marred the start of a new school year for Ukraine’s four million schoolchildren, stated UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell as she concluded a three-day visit across the country.  “The new school year should be a time of excitement and promise, as children re-enter the…

BUCHAREST, Romania – Anastasiia remembers the scenes at the train station in Bucharest in the weeks after she arrived in Romania. She had fled to the city from her hometown of Odesa, in southern Ukraine, with her two-year-old son Kyril as the conflict intensified. Anastasiia left behind her husband, her parents, and her job as deputy principal of…

WARSAW, 3 August 2022 - UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra Jonas travelled to Poland this week to meet refugee children and families who fled the war in Ukraine.  Chopra Jonas visited a “Blue Dot” space at the Refugee Accommodation Centre in Warsaw, meeting with mothers and children from Ukraine who are now staying at the centre, the…

Mohammad Al-Amin was 14 years old when he was arrested. He had been accused of vandalism and was transferred to a child detention centre in the outskirts of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka. He was terrified. Al-Amin had no idea what the conditions would be in a place that was far from his home. He arrived at a noisy facility, that was crowded with…, More than 5,000 children reunited with their families, The virtual children’s courts were developed to help expedite the backlog of cases involving children. Many had been detained after being accused of minor offences. The courts also helped to alleviate health concerns, with crowded conditions at the detention facilities putting young people at increased risk of contracting COVID-19. “When I started…, Call for virtual children’s courts to become permanent, The virtual courts were suspended in July 2021, after COVID-related restrictions were lifted in Bangladesh. UNICEF is advocating for these courts to become a permanent fixture of the justice system in the country. These virtual courts would allow for children to remain in school pending their court hearings. It would also help to avoid the…, Return to normality and school, On his release from detention, Al-Amin was assigned a probation officer to take care of the case proceedings, and two social workers to help with his return. “Rana bhai and Redwan bhai [the social workers] look after me now and visit me every now and then to see what I am up to – whether I’m studying or not, whether I’m on the right path or not,”…

As delivered NEW YORK, 12 May 2022  - "Mr President, Excellencies and colleagues, I would like to express my appreciation to Ambassadors De La Fuente and Riviere for convening today’s meeting. I would also like to thank the United States for hosting this briefing during your Security Council presidency.  "It has been just one month since UNICEF…

KYIV/NEW YORK, 4 May 2022 – At least one in six UNICEF-supported schools in eastern Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the war, including School 36 – the only ‘Safe School’ in Mariupol – underscoring the dramatic impact the conflict is having on children’s lives and futures. Two schools have been hit by attacks in the past…