UNICEF Blog | Learn About Our Stories from the Field

Latest stories and world news

Latest stories and world news  

On the ground in Sierra Leone after mudslide sweeps away homes

On the night of Monday 13 August 2017, Sierra Leone’s capital city Freetown experienced torrential rains and landslides. The Government has confirmed that at least 297 people have died – including 109 children. The death toll is expected to rise significantly, since 600 people – including children – are still unaccounted for. Initial assessments of the … Continued

LISTEN: UNICEF Youth Ambassadors talk Direct Provision on RTÉ

UNICEF Ireland Youth Ambassadors Natasha Maimba (15) and Minahil Sarfraz (15) gave The Ray D’Arcy Show on RTÉ Radio One a brilliant and insightful interview about what it is like to be a child growing up in the Irish Direct Provision system. Direct Provision is the system the Irish State puts asylum seekers into when … Continued

Mosul’s hope is its children – UNICEF reopens schools

Lani (15) wants to tell the world what Iraqi children are going through. She says conflict in her home city of Mosul “destroyed our lives”, but there is hope. UNICEF is working to reopen schools and Lani is back in class for the first time in years. Please support children like Lani in Iraq. Photo: Students … Continued

Child refugee writes devastating letter to other kids

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Syrian refugee Muzoon Almellehan has made a heartfelt appeal to fellow refugee children. The education activist is working to inspire young people to stay in school, in spite of the fact that they may be caught up in humanitarian emergencies. Dear fellow refugee, Some people call us the lost generation. We are not lost. We … Continued

Photo essay: 7 million children leave home in search of opportunities

  The vast majority of child migrants uprooted by violence, poverty and climate change remain in Africa. Children account for over half of the 12 million West and Central African people on the move each year, with some 75 per cent of them remaining in sub-Saharan Africa, and less than one in five heading to … Continued

UNICEF’s Report Card 14: child well-being in wealthier nations

  The latest UNICEF Report Card Building the Future is the first report to assess the status of children in rich countries in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It ranks countries based on their performance and details the challenges and opportunities that rich countries face in achieving interdependent global commitments for children, shared economic prosperity and … Continued

Hassan’s story – UNICEF Ireland Chief meets critically ill children in Somalia

Executive Director Peter Power has just returned from a fact-finding mission to famine-risk zones in Somalia. I first met eight-month-old Hassan at the beginning of my week-long trip to northern Somalia, on my first visit to a UNICEF Stabilisation Centre in Hargeisa, Somaliland. The clinic has been set up to deal with Severely Acutely Malnourished children with … Continued

Massive measles vaccination drive in Syria reaches millions under five

Millions of children under the age of five received successfully measles vaccination in Syria this month. UNICEF helped by providing 3 million doses of measles vaccine, and by letting parents know about the campaign through posters and flyers. Before the current crisis, Syria’s immunisation coverage was one of the best in the region at 80 … Continued

UNICEF responds to Cholera outbreak in Yemen

  Today in Yemen, 2.2 million children are malnourished, including 462,000 who are severely acutely malnourished. Yemen’s food crisis is being made even more difficult by the outbreak of Cholera in recent weeks. Some 332 people have died from the disease, with 32,000 suspected cases of cholera reported. Up to a third of cases are estimated … Continued

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