UNICEF Communication Specialist Chris Tidey travelled to Niger to assess the situation of families, especially children and women, amid the Sahel region’s intensifying nutrition crisis. Walking through the door into the intensive care ward, I am struck by sensory overload – children’s cries come seemingly from every direction; medical staff buzzing around me, inserting a … Continued

Stepping off their minibus in the mountain village of Mashta el Hammoud, in northern Wadi Khaled, a group of children scampers up the stone steps to their classrooms. While the prospect of maths and Arabic classes may not seem attractive, there’s no mistaking these youngsters’ eagerness for the afternoon that lies ahead. Report by Simon … Continued

Khadija’s 6-month-old son, Nawal, had been suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea for days, but she thought it was related to his teething. Finally, when his fever did not go down, she brought him to a clinic in N’Djamena, where he was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. Report by Eva Gilliam VIDEO: UNICEF correspondent Eva Gilliam … Continued

It’s dinner time in the fishing village of Tako, and Mariam Dianapo is worried about how to feed her five hungry children. Report by Chris Niles UNICEF correspondent Bob Coen reports on an increase in child malnutrition in Mali as the Sahel region is gripped by a severe food crisis. She has just one bowl … Continued

UNICEF correspondent Karin Bridger reports on the Executive Director’s visit to Uganda, where he drew attention to grassroots innovations and child undernutrition.

A time bomb is ticking in the Sahel. April marks the beginning of the region’s lean season. It rains only once a year in the Sahel, an arid region that stretches across eight countries in West-Central Africa. VIDEO:UNICEF correspondent Loch Phillipps reports on preparations to deal with the food and nutrition crisis in the Sahel … Continued

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow recently visited Chad to attend the launch of a massive polio immunization campaign and to raise awareness of the importance of ending polio transmission once and for all. Report by Guy Hubbard. MOUNDOU/N’DJAMENA, Chad. VIDEO: UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow attends the launch of a massive polio vaccination campaign in … Continued

When Zelika, 2, was admitted to a hospital three weeks ago with severe acute malnutrition, her odds of survival were low. But her life was saved after intensive nutritional and medical care in a treatment centre in Ouallam.  Report by Shushan Mebrahtu, OUALLAM/ NIAMEY, Niger UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Director David Gressly and … Continued

UNICEF today applauded the International Criminal Court’s conviction of Thomas Lubanga of war crimes for recruiting children into his armed movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As a result of today’s landmark ruling, Lubanga is the first warlord to face international justice for using children as weapons of war. “This is a pivotal … Continued

Although by its very nature the exact numbers are difficult to quantify, it is estimated today that as many as 300,000 child soldiers – some as young as eight years old, are involved in more than 30 conflicts around the world. Child soldiers are used as combatants, messengers, porters, cooks and to provide sexual services. … Continued

On a cold February day, Syrian refugee children and their parents gathered at the Jordan Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) Centre, a UNICEF partner, in the southern Jordanian town of Ma’an. Report by Samir Badran. MA’AN, Jordan. They are some of the thousands of Syrians who have made the perilous journey across the border, … Continued

Getting a medical check-up is never a pleasant experience, and Yasmine, 1, is plainly not enjoying hers. She wails miserably as she is hoisted into a blue canvas scale and then suspended in mid-air for a few seconds while a nurse reads her weight. Report by Simon Ingram, NYALA, South Darfur, Sudan. February 2012: UNICEF … Continued