Global

At the start of 2024, we stand at a critical juncture: Geopolitical tensions are escalating, economic integration is unravelling, and multilateral cooperation is faltering. This global fragmentation threatens to undermine decades of progress made for children worldwide. The choices we make today – whether to continue on this path or whether we…

FLORENCE/NEW YORK, 6 December 2023 – Some of the world’s richest countries experienced sharp rises in child poverty between 2014 and 2021, according to data published today by UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight.  Report Card 18: Child Poverty in the Midst of Wealth – the latest in the series looking at children’s well-being…

I'm from Argentina, a country that has had many economic problems for as long as I can remember. According to a UNICEF Argentina study, two out of every three children in Argentina are poor or deprived of basic rights, which means there is many people living in low-income neighborhoods who cannot cope with heat waves or floods. Clearly, the…

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON D.C., 13 September 2023 – An estimated 333 million children globally – or 1 in 6 – live in extreme poverty, according to new UNICEF-World Bank analysis released today. Global Trends in Child Monetary Poverty According to International Poverty Lines – which for the first time looks at trends in extreme child poverty – finds that…

World Children’s Day is UNICEF’s annual day of action for children, by children, marking the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children’s rights are human rights. But in too many places today, children’s rights are under attack. On World Children’s Day we make space for children and young people to raise their voices on the…, #ForEveryChild, Every Right!, For every child, peace animation For every child, peace Every child, everywhere, has a right to live in a peaceful world. For every child, a livable planet animation For every child, a livable planet  Children have a right to a safe and livable planet. For every child, a voice animation For every child, a voice  Children must be listened to and…, #WorldChildrensDay around the world, Children work on a hand-painted canvas during an event marking World Children’s Day in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. UNICEF/UNI478111/Sujan In 2023, World Children's Day was an opportunity to recognize children as rights holders, to acknowledge the progress that has been made for and with children, and to demand action to…, Learn more about child rights, Hear from UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, “ Children live in a world that is increasingly hostile to their rights .” Read the child-friendly version of the Convention on the Rights of the Child . Explore resources for parents and teachers on child rights. Watch “We All Have Rights” a video explaining child rights to children aged 3 to…

UNICEF’s Position Paper on Leveraging Nutrition and Social Protection Programming to address Malnutrition and Poverty, including in Fragile and Humanitarian Contexts describes the rationale for purposively integrating nutrition and social protection programmes. It explains why a collaborative response matters for children and women. The Position…

Ending child poverty: A policy agenda

With the climate crisis here and accelerating, every child on every continent is facing more frequent, severe,  and destructive climate hazards including air pollution, water scarcity, heatwaves, vector-borne disease, cyclones, and river and coastal flooding. There is a brief window of time to avoid the very worst of the climate crisis, and…

For more than 15 years UNICEF has been at the forefront of measuring, monitoring, and addressing child poverty. This document provides an overview of UNICEF's role and commitment to ending child poverty and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It outlines UNICEF's key areas of expertise in child poverty alongside country examples covering…

Seventy-four years after UNICEF was established and 31 years since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the organization’s mission to promote the full attainment of the rights of all children is as urgent as ever.  The UNICEF Strategic Plan 2018-2021 is anchored in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and charts a course…, 1 in 6 children in the world is living in extreme poverty Nearly 20% of children under 5 are extremely poor, compared to 7.9% of adults 100 million additional children are estimated to be living in multidimensional poverty as a result of the pandemic, a 10 per cent increase since 2019 Child poverty has devastating consequences for children,…, portrait-girl Public finance for children, In 137 UNICEF country offices as part of the COVID-19 response, UNICEF worked with governments, development partners and International Financial Institutions to protect and leverage resources for children  In 65 countries supported national governments to strengthen social sector budgets for better and increased investments for children  In 96…, portrait-girl Strengthening social protection systems, Only 1 in 4 children currently has any access to a child or family benefit Nearly 133 million children in 95 countries were reached through UNICEF-supported cash transfer programmes 115 countries were supported with building inclusive and shock-responsive social protection systems supporting emergency responses Social protection has continued to…, girls-football-match Promoting positive gender norms and socialization, 94 UNICEF Country Programmes across all regions included concrete gender equality objectives 64 UNICEF Country Offices  carried out interventions to confront gender discriminatory roles and norms and promote positive gender socialization 3 million mothers, fathers and caregivers were reached across 94 countries  To promote positive gender norms…, big-sister-carry-younger-sister Supporting children with disabilities to reach their full potential, 4.8 million children with disabilities across 148 countries reached with UNICEF disability-inclusive development and humanitarian programmes Over 134,000 children provided with assistive technology (AT) and accessible products, exceeding the 2021 target of 95,200 55 per cent of UNICEF country offices systematically included children with…, young-women-outside Supporting adolescents to engage in shaping their future, Adolescent Participation and Civic Engagement 19,500,000 adolescents (54 per cent girls) engaged in UNICEF programmes across 125 countries in humanitarian and development settings 5,700,000 adolescents  engaged specifically in UNICEF programmes in humanitarian action and more than one million in climate change advocacy. 92 per cent of UNICEF…, girl-hugging-globe Looking forward, Looking ahead, UNICEF is sharpening the focus of this Goal Area with a focus on reducing child poverty, revamping and reaffirming our focus on public finance for an inclusive recovery, and expanding access to inclusive social protection, including in humanitarian crises and fragile contexts. Strengthening social protection systems’ capacities to…,    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 contribution, Read more and support our work, June 2022, Global Annual Results Report 2021 GOAL AREA 5 Every child has an equitable chance in life Cover image: UNICEF/UNI388995/Mussapp As part of the response to COVID-19, UNICEF and the World Bank supported the Government of Guatemala with the design and implementation of Bono Familia, an unconditional emergency cash transfer programme to support the…

UNICEF has long advocated and provided technical support for measuring child poverty and developing national responses to reduce it. This includes promoting monetary child poverty analysis which can lead to tangible results in the lives of children living in poverty. This note provides guidance to expand the child poverty analytical toolbox, with…

“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…