UNICEF Blog | Learn About Our Stories from the Field

Latest stories and world news

Latest stories and world news  

Winter is the latest threat to children in conflict-ridden Aleppo

Ten-year-old Ahmed lives with more than 6,000 other displaced people in a former warehouse turned in to a shelter, on the outskirts of Aleppo. With both parents dead and no other relatives to look after him or his four siblings, Ahmed came to the shelter from East Aleppo with his neighbours. Photo: © UNICEF Syrian Arab Republic/2016/Al-Issa … Continued

70 Years of UNICEF – 1946-2016

UNICEF is 70 years in operation, but we are not celebrating. We work in 190 countries, advocating on behalf of children here in Ireland, supporting child rights in countries where services are being developed, and responding to emergencies in countries where a quarter of the world’s children live – wherever we are, we work for … Continued

Families flee the Syrian nightmare – only to be caught in a new insidious trap, The Irish Independent

Dispatch from the Turkish-Syrian border: ‘Aged 11, he survived Aleppo to be forced into sweatshops’ Stephen Rae PUBLISHED04/12/2016 | 02:30 A Syrian refugee child in Nizip 1 outside Gaziantep, Turkey on the Syrian border. Pic:Mark Condren Gaziantep is a prosperous, bustling city. There are smart restaurants, fruit and vegetable stalls groaning with local produce, busy but excellent … Continued

Syria in winter is no place to be a child at Christmas

Peter Power, Executive Director for UNICEF Ireland recently returned from a visit to a Syrian refugee camp. He has seen first hand the lengths families must go to in order to stay warm. Plunging temperatures, freezing rain and snow will bring misery and suffering to families already exhausted by six years of relentless war. Winter is on its … Continued

Ferdia Peelo: Emergency Lessons in Nepal

We took 16-year-old actor Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (Sing St) to Nepal to see how students are managing one year on from devastating earthquake in 2015. What he found was resilience, courage and determination to succeed. Ferdia struck up a friendship with Binod (15), who lives in one of the districts worst-affected by the natural disaster – … Continued

Progress report: How are we doing girls? #DayoftheGirl

International Day of the Girl Child gives us a moment to reflect on gender equality. It’s been an incredible year for girls globally and there’s lots of progress to report, but we need to do more if we are to achieve gender equality by 2030. That’s our target under the Sustainable Development Goals, agreed a … Continued

WATCH: The UNICEF #IMAGINE project

  We invited people from all around the world to lend their voices for children – 140 countries responded. Singer Katy Perry, actor Idris Elba and footballer Neymar Jr all worked with producer David Guetta to make this film a reality. Perhaps the most special contributions though, were filmed on camera phones by members of … Continued

Emma Watson introduces The World’s Largest Lesson on Global Goals 2016

In 2015, World Leaders committed to the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, which aim to end extreme poverty; fight inequality and fix climate change. If we’re to achieve these ambitious goals by 2030, we all need to play our part. World’s Largest Lesson is a way to get young people in schools involved.

The trip that changed Laura Whitmore’s life

Her life has been defined by hard work and opportunity. But on a recent trip to Nepal with UNICEF Ireland and ECHO, Laura Whitmore realised how the good fortune of where she was born has impacted on the choices available to her. ‘Don’t forget us’, the children of Nepal pleaded with the TV presenter, jewellery … Continued

Help protect children