UNICEF News
News from UNICEF, Press releases, News notes, Media advisories, Statements



UNICEF and partners fight deadly, but preventable, cholera outbreak in Cameroon (Sep 8)
NEW YORK, USA, 8 September 2010 – Cameroon is currently experiencing one of its most severe outbreaks of cholera in decades. The epidemic began in May 2010, following the country's rainy season, and is most prevalent in the country's Extreme North province. To date, there are some 5,560 reported cases of cholera and 385 deaths, according to the Government of Cameroon.


In Pakistan's makeshift camps, mobile health clinics save lives (Sep 8)
SUKKUR, Pakistan, 8 September 2010 – Seemingly oblivious to the constant stream of trucks, gasoline fumes and dust being kicked up by the traffic roaring past this tiny makeshift camp on the outskirts of Sukkar, Dr. Nasreen Khaskheli listened intently to her patients' descriptions of their ailments. She nodded empathically and, after a thorough consultation, dispensed the required medications.


Ghanaian children benefit from UNICEF IWASH project (Sep 8)
TAMALE, Ghana, 8 September 2010 – They say it takes a village to raise a child. But children themselves are equally capable of important work, as UNICEF Ghana's new handwashing project, known as 'IWASH,' is proving.


Cash transfer programme helps the poorest families in Malawi survive (Sep 8)
MCHINJE DISTRICT, Malawi,7 September 2010 - For two years, Rozina Chimbalani has struggled to feed, clothe and school the four grandchildren left in her care after her daughter died. Across Malawi, this has been a painfully common story, as for more than two decades HIV has shattered families and left more than a million children orphaned.


Strides still needed in girls' education, says women's rights expert (Sep 8)
NEW YORK, 7 September 2010 – Education is a key component of United Nations Millennium Development Goal 3: to promote gender equality and empowerment of women. According to UNICEF's flagship 'Progress for Children' report 2010 – subtitled 'Achieving the MDGs with Equity' – most countries have reached or are close to reaching the MDG target for gender parity in primary education.


Executive Board session opens with a focus on progress and equity (Sep 8)
NEW YORK, USA, 7 September 2010 – The UNICEF Executive Board opened its second regular session of 2010 today with a focus on narrowing disparities in child survival and development within and among developing nations.


'Progress for Children' report sheds new light on achieving Millennium Development Goals (Sep 7)
NEW YORK, USA, 7 September 2010 – Addressing the needs of the poorest of the poor is the key to meeting ambitious development goals and reducing global injustice, according to a UNICEF's latest 'Progress for Children' report. The report was released today, during the first day of a UNICEF Executive Board session at United Nations headquarters in New York.


In Panama, Casa Esperanza helps children become students and leaders (Sep 8)
PANAMA CITY, Panama,7 September 2010 – Look beyond Panama's famous canal, and you'll find a world where an estimated 55,000 children under 18 are working in the streets, on farms, in fisheries and in coffee plantations.


Field Diary: A firsthand look at the devastating floods in Pakistan's Punjab province (Sep 7)
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, 3 September 2010 – I accompanied UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake on his recent visit to flood-affected areas of Pakistan.


New UNICEF report calls for reducing disparities among children in Viet Nam (Sep 3)
HA NOI, Viet Nam, 3 September 2010 – According to key findings presented in a UNICEF report entitled 'An Analysis of the Situation of Children in Viet Nam 2010,' Viet Nam has made tremendous progress for its children in a remarkably short period of time, with unprecedented reduction in under-five mortality rates and poverty.


UNICEF Peru helps communities counter gang violence (Sep 3)
NEW YORK, USA, 3 September 2010 – Young people in a pilot violence prevention programme launched by UNICEF Peru are speaking out on violence, education and health in their communities.


On International Youth Day in Madagascar, film screening gives young people a forum (Sep 3)
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, 2 September 2010 – A film set in Madagascar's arid south is helping young people develop life skills by sparking a debate on what it means to succeed in life.


UNICEF and World Food Programme chiefs visit Pakistan's flood-stricken Punjab province (Sep 8)
GUJRAT, Pakistan, 2 September 2010 – In a show of support for the victims of flooding in Pakistan, UNICEF and World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Directors Anthony Lake and Josette Sheeran visited the agencies' humanitarian operations in the Muzzafargarh district of Punjab, one of the worst-affected provinces of the country.


UNICEF and IKEA partner for healthier babies in Jharkand state, India (Sep 2)
KHUNTI, India, 2 September 2010 – Bilkani Sangha shakes her head in amazement when she recalls how she first fed her newborn baby. She remembers dipping a cloth into warm goat's milk mixed with honey and jungle herbs, then slowly dripping the concoction into her tiny child's mouth.


Life skills courses brighten the future for Syrian Arab Republic's refugees (Sep 1)
DAMASCUS, Syrian Arab Republic, 1 September 2010 – Ibrahim, a refugee from Iraq, admits that he hasn't been this nervous since his arrival in Syria. His eyes flicker around a large room in the heart the Jaramana refugee suburb, which is filled to capacity with other young refugees.


UNICEF UK Ambassador Martin Bell says children are the worst victims of acute crisis in Yemen (Aug 31)
AL-MAZRAQ, Yemen, 31 August 2010 – UNICEF UK Ambassador for Humanitarian Emergencies Martin Bell witnessed the horrifying impact of conflict on children when he visited northern Yemen recently. Fighting between government and rebel forces has raged in the region for several years, displacing thousands of families.


Emerging leaders: Timor-Leste inaugurates young parliamentarians (Sep 1)
DILI, Timor-Leste, 1 September 2010 – As the day breaks in Dare 'suco,' or village, a jovial Rogue Santiago Braga De Araujo, 15, cannot wait to make the 30-minute bumpy road trip down the hill to the capital of Timor-Leste, Dili.


Field diary: More efforts needed to help Somali families survive and thrive (Sep 2)
BOSSASO and GAROWE, Somalia, 1 September 2010 – As soon as I arrived in Bossaso, the main port town located in northeast Somalia, the scorching heat, strong wind and barren plains brought back the memory of my past experience in Somalia.


UNICEF Executive Director visits Pakistan's flood-stricken Charsadda district (Sep 7)
CHARSADDA DISTRICT, Pakistan, 31 August 2010 – UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake's two-day visit to Pakistan, which wraps up today, has reflected the unprecedented scale of emergency the country faces, with more than 17 million people affected by floods caused due to exceptionally heavy monsoon rains.


Christine's story: Escaping poverty through education in post-earthquake Haiti (Aug 31)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 31 August 2010 – Christine, 14, lives in a camp for displaced people near the international airport here in the Haitian capital. "The only thing I know is that I know nothing," says this energetic girl, who cites Socrates as her motivation for going to school.


'Beyond School Books' Pakistan floods and education (Aug 31)
NEW YORK, USA, 30 August 2010 – Pakistan has experienced some of the worst monsoon-related floods in history, devastating large parts of the country, wiping out towns and villages, and displacing entire communities. Millions of children have been affected, losing their homes, loved ones, and schools, leaving them vulnerable to disease and abuse.


As Executive Director visits, UNICEF works to deliver safe water to flood-affected families in Pakistan (Sep 2)
NEW YORK, USA, 30 August 2010 – Massive flooding continues to devastate Pakistan. Nearly 18 million people have been affected and about a fifth of the country remains underwater. The number of people killed has increased to almost 1,600 since the beginning of the flooding just over one month ago.


Media initiative brings Zambian youth to the front-line of climate crisis (Aug 30)
LUSAKA, Zambia, 27 August 2010 – When Daniel Sichinga, 16, recently gathered a group of young Zambian Climate Ambassadors to record a radio talk show, he asked one guest, 17-year-old Tendai Nyirenda, about a burning issue in her community: climate change.


In Singapore, Inaugural Youth Olympic Games provide competition and inspiration (Aug 27)
SINGAPORE, 27 August 2010 – As the first-ever Youth Olympic Games comes to a close, a young female athlete quietly traces the outline of her hand on a piece of paper and writes, "I have a right to be educated and to play any sports I like."


Recovery continues six months after massive quake (Aug 31)
TALCAHUANO, Chile, 27 August 2010 – Jessica, 12, used to live in Santa Clara, a neighbourhood in Chile's coastal city of Talcahuano. But her home was destroyed during a massive earthquake six months ago and her family was subsequently displaced.