At a medical clinic outside of Bol, a town in Chad’s Lac Region, I recently met Adama Abdulai—a 30-year-old mother of six. Her three-year-old son Abdou was being treated for severe acute malnutrition; at 17.6 pounds, Abdu weighed roughly the same amount as his nine-month-old brother.  Report by Chris Tidey, UNICEF, N’DJAMENA, Chad (March 5, … Continued

Peddling by hand, Mulasi Huesseini forces her wheelchair through the sand and into the eastern village of Kasambondo. Her friends walk alongside, carrying their babies. One of them also carries Ms. Husseini’s 4-month-old son, Lubumba. Report by Guy Hubbard. KASAMBONDO VILLAGE/NYUNZU/MUKAWA VILLAGE, Democratic Republic of the Congo. VIDEO: 20 February 2012 – UNICEF reports on … Continued

UNICEF is racing to prevent a second major food crisis in Africa in less than a year. Report by Chris Niles VIDEO: 15 February 2012 – UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa David Gressly discusses how UNICEF is responding to the looming food crisis in the Sahel. World attention was focused last year … Continued

At a medical clinic outside of Bol, a town in Chad’s Lac Region, I recently met Adama Abdulai – a 30-year-old mother of six. Her 3-year-old son Abdou was being treated for severe acute malnutrition; at eight kilograms, Abdu weighed roughly the same amount as his 9-month-old brother. Report by Chris Tidey. N’DJAMENA, Chad. Ms. … Continued

Each year, the period between the rains and the new harvest is a lean season, when mothers like Fatima Mohammed struggle to feed their children—in Mohammed’s case, seven of them. Report by Shantha Bloemen, UNICEF. GAET TEIDOUMA, Mauritania But last year, there was no rain, and this year’s lean season has come three months early. … Continued

“It is a relief to receive some blankets and drinking water today so my children can be more comfortable and do not have to sleep on the dust anymore,” said Fatuma Mathala. Report by Shushan Mebrahtu and Seydou Amadou Oumarou. MANGAIZÉ, Niger, Ms. Mathala, who is six months pregnant, and her four children, ages 2, … Continued

It’s been two years since my last visit to Mao, a sand-smothered town in the belt of the Sahel. People here used to farm and raise animals but all that has changed. The rains haven’t fallen in years. Four seasons of crops have failed. The animals are dying and the children too. The world hears … Continued

A layer of dust cloaks the horizon around Mao, a town in Western Chad, deep in the Sahel region of Africa. Rain hasn’t fallen in years, and four seasons of crops have failed. Animals have long been dying here, but lately, children have too. Report by Guy Hubbard – MAO, Chad. VIDEO: UNICEF correspondent Anja … Continued

Four-year-old Bassira was motionless in her hospital bed while a tube running through her nose delivered nutrient-rich therapeutic milk to her body – treatment for severe acute malnutrition. Repory by Stephen Pattison and Chris Tidey. MARADI, Niger, 13 February 2012 Her mother brought her to this therapeutic feeding centre outside Maradi after Bassira, who was … Continued

Nearly eleven months of violence in Syria have led to the deaths and injuries of hundreds of children. There are reports of children being arbitrarily arrested, tortured and sexually abused while in detention. Over the past few days, reported heavy shelling by government forces of civilian neighbourhoods in the city of Homs is undoubtedly causing … Continued

Four-year-old Nomy arrived at the hospital in Amboasary with a diagnosis of severe acute malnutrition – a potentially deadly condition – with medical complications. By 11 a.m., he had been admitted for emergency treatment. AMBOASARY, Madagascar. VIDEO: UNICEF reports on the treatment of severe acute malnutrition among children under age 5 in Madagascar. But Nomy … Continued

ADEN, Yemen, 30 January 2012 – The voice of Miryam Mohammed, a 10-year-old Somali girl, echoed around the small rooms of her day care centre. She and the other children are singing the Somali national anthem. Report by Ansar Rasheed “The song is about my home land that I have never seen,” she explained. “I … Continued