Global

UNICEF has partnered with the Oxygen CoLab to drive development of innovative oxygen concentrators for use in low-resource settings

COVID-19 is estimated to have pushed an additional 142 million children into monetary poverty.  The impacts on children’s lives have been severe with disruptions to essential services including education, nutrition, healthcare, water, child care, sanitation and child protection with an estimated 1.2 billion children now living in multidimensional…

NEW YORK, 18 November 2021 – Children and young people are nearly 50 per cent more likely than older people to believe that the world is becoming a better place with each generation, according to a new international survey by UNICEF and Gallup released ahead of World Children’s Day. The survey shows that young people are also more likely to…

NEW YORK, 15 November 2021 – More than 45,000 children have been released from detention and safely returned to family or an appropriate alternative since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data released by UNICEF today. Detention of children in the time of COVID reveals that governments and detaining authorities in at least 84…

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…

There are at least five immediate and devastating consequences of COVID-19 on education that require collective action: Firstly, we have seen progress on out-of-school children reverse, while the pre-existing global learning crisis is at risk of becoming a catastrophe. Meanwhile, vulnerable children, especially girls are quickly losing the…, It’s time to confront stubborn country coordination challenges, The recent endorsement of the improved  Global Education Cooperation Mechanism  by Member States and partners reconfirms a shared commitment to accelerate progress towards  Sustainable Development Goal 4  by offering “greater policy leadership, better synergies, greater efficiency and improved delivery in global and regional cooperation”. The next…, Pulling in the same direction, With a global coordination system in place and repeated calls to reduce transaction costs, all stakeholders must support and adhere to a national coordination process, led by governments. At the country level, the local education group is oftentimes the  key entity bringing  together relevant partners   to support agreed objectives that align with…, Supporting governments to lead, Effective country coordination also requires time and capacity dedicated to supporting governments in their leadership role. This means support to set up business processes, develop tools, as well as training and knowledge management systems. It also means rallying and marshalling other local and international actors towards a shared understanding…

New ACT-Accelerator strategic plan sets out urgent actions to address crucial gaps in access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, vaccines and personal protective equipment in low- and middle-income countries, using the latest epidemiological, supply and market information.   Delivering this plan is crucial to reaching globally agreed targets for COVID-…

A new report introduces the Remote Learning Readiness Index, which measures countries’ readiness to deliver remote learning

This technical note is a ‘how to’ tool to monitor and evaluate child marriage programmes during COVID-19 and serves as a tool for harmonization and to spread good practices for monitoring and evaluation when this can only be carried out remotely.

NEW YORK, 28 October 2021 – At least 200 million schoolchildren live in 31 low- and middle-income countries that remain unprepared to deploy remote learning in future emergency school closures, according to a new UNICEF report released today. Among that group of students, 102 million live in 14 countries that have kept their schools fully or…

Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore NEW YORK, 27 OCTOBER 2021 – “Without action now, the world could face a serious shortage of COVID vaccine syringes by the end of 2022, with potentially dire consequences for the global effort to bring the pandemic under control. “Last month, supporters of the global effort to provide access to…

NEW YORK, 27 OCTOBER 2021 – G20 countries have received 15 times more COVID-19 vaccine doses per capita than countries in sub-Saharan Africa*, according to a new analysis. The analysis, conducted by science analytics company Airfinity, exposes the severity of vaccine inequity between high-income and low-income countries, especially in Africa. It…