Unicef

Datanomics: India lags its peers in hygiene and sanitation levels

Despite improvements in water access, India lags behind BRICS peers in sanitation and school hygiene facilities, UNICEF data shows

WHO & UNICEF warn billions still lack basic services in health facilities

A UN report on progress in universal access to water, sanitation, hygiene and health care facilities shows that billions of people still visit health care facilities that lack the basics services

Obesity now affects 1 in 10 children, Unicef warns of global crisis

Ultra-processed foods, aggressive marketing and weak regulations are driving obesity among children. Unicef urges governments to act now to protect children's health and future potential

World breastfeeding week 2025 calls for better support for new mothers

Global campaign highlights the need for shared responsibility across workplaces, families, and health systems, while emphasising early breastfeeding support as critical to infant survival

Gaza's children have missed two years of school, truce won't undo damage

Two years ago, Sarah Qanan was a star high school student preparing for final exams and dreaming of becoming a doctor. Today, the 18-year-old lives in a sweltering tent in the Gaza Strip and says she is just trying to stay alive. She's part of a generation of Palestinians from grade school through university who have had virtually no access to education in the territory since the war began in October 2023. Classes were suspended that month and schools were transformed into crowded shelters as hundreds of thousands fled their homes at the start of Israel's campaign of retaliation after Hamas Oct 7, 2023, attack. The closure of schools has removed a key social outlet for young people as they grapple with war, hunger and displacement. For younger children, it has meant missing out on basic skills like reading and simple arithmetic. For older students, advanced subjects, graduation exams and college applications have all been put on hold. Even if negotiations lead to another ceasefire,

South Asia achieves record immunisation coverage: WHO, Unicef data

South Asia has achieved its highest-ever immunization coverage for children, with notable progress in India and Nepal, according to new data released on Tuesday by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF for 2024. India reduced its number of zero-dose children those who have not received a single vaccine by 43 per cent, from 1.6 million in 2023 to 0.9 million in 2024. Nepal achieved a 52 per cent reduction, from 23,000 to 11,000, a WHO statement said. Pakistan also recorded its highest-ever DTP3 (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis) coverage at 87 per cent. However, Afghanistan continued to struggle, with the lowest coverage in the region and a one percentage point decline since last year, it added. The progress marks a milestone in the region's efforts to protect every child from vaccine-preventable diseases. "This is a proud moment for South Asia. More children are protected today than ever before, thanks to tireless frontline health workers, strong government leadership, ...

Over 14 million infants missed all vaccines in 2024, warn WHO and UNICEF

Despite stable global coverage, over 14 million infants received no vaccines in 2024, a worrying gap as efforts to meet Immunization Agenda 2030 targets remain off-track

Arise Sir David! Beckham to be awarded knighthood by King Charles: Report

Without citing sources, the BBC said Beckham is set to receive further recognition both for his soccer career, and his contributions to British society

UN agencies that provide aid worldwide cut jobs, costs as US funding drops

Several UN agencies that provide aid to children, refugees and other vulnerable people around the world are slashing jobs or cutting costs in other ways, with officials pointing to funding reductions mainly from the United States and warning that vital relief programs will be severely affected as a result. The UN World Food Program is expected to cut up to 30 per cent of its staff. The head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said it would downsize its headquarters and regional offices to reduce costs by 30 per cent and cut senior-level positions by 50 per cent. That's according to internal memos obtained by The AP and verified by two UN officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal personnel decisions. Other agencies like UNICEF, the UN children's agency, and OCHA, the UN humanitarian agency, have also announced or plan to make cuts. One WFP official called the cuts the most massive seen by the agency in the past 25 years, and that as a result, operatio

UN lauds India's efforts in mitigating childhood mortality, stillbirth

India is among the top performer countries with reduction in mortality and stillbirth rates

Unicef urges Taliban to lift ban on girls' education as schools reopen

The UN children's agency on Saturday urged Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to immediately lift a lingering ban on girls' education to save the future of millions who have been deprived of their right to education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. The appeal by UNICEF comes as a new school year began in Afghanistan without girls beyond sixth grade. The ban, said the agency, has deprived 400,000 more girls of their right to education, bringing the total to 2.2 million. Afghanistan is the only country in the world that bans female secondary and higher education, with the Taliban justifying the ban saying it doesn't comply with their interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. For over three years, the rights of girls in Afghanistan have been violated," Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director, said in a statement. All girls must be allowed to return to school now. If these capable, bright young girls continue to be denied an education, then the repercussions will last for ...

India's move from institutional to family-based childcare gains momentum

In the drought-prone villages in many parts of the country, seasonal migration forces families into impossible choices. When parents leave for months to work in sugarcane fields, brick kilns or construction sites, they often take their children along. But those who stay behind are left in the care of grandparents or older siblings, often facing emotional strain and the burden of household responsibilities. For both groups, the consequences are stark: disrupted education, limited access to healthcare, and exposure to child labour and early marriage. The UNICEF, in collaboration with district authorities and NGOs, is working to address this crisis through its 'Kinship and Community-Based Care Programme' in places like drought-prone Jalna in Maharashtra. The initiative, which aims to keep children in their villages under the care of relatives or community members, is part of a broader shift in India's child protection system'?s move away from institutional care toward family-based ..

UNICEF, WHO to continue mass polio vaccination campaign in Gaza Strip

In a joint statement, the two world organisations said that the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) will be administered to over 591,000 children under 10 years of age to protect them from polio

Nearly 250 mn children missed school in 2024 due to extreme weather: Unicef

At least 242 million children in 85 countries had their schooling interrupted last year because of heatwaves, cyclones, flooding and other extreme weather, the United Nations Children's Fund said in a new report Friday. UNICEF said it amounted to one in seven school-going children across the world being kept out of class at some point in 2024 because of climate hazards. The report also outlined how some countries saw hundreds of their schools destroyed by weather, with low-income nations in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa hit especially hard. But other regions weren't spared the extreme weather, as torrential rains and floods in Italy near the end of the year disrupted school for more than 900,000 children. Thousands had their classes halted after catastrophic flooding in Spain. While southern Europe dealt with deadly floods and Asia and Africa had flooding and cyclones, heatwaves were the predominant climate hazard shuttering schools last year, UNICEF said, as the earth recorded its .

More than 500 Afghan children killed or injured in 2024, says UNICEF

UNICEF stated that in 2024, it trained three million children and their guardians on how to recognise and avoid the dangers of explosives

Why Panacea Biotec shares were locked in 5% upper circuit on Thursday?

As per the company's filing, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) awarded the company to supply 115 million doses of bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) in Africa/Asia

Sick kids wait months for Israeli permission to leave Gaza for treatment

The 12-year-old Palestinian boy was lying in a hospital bed in central Gaza, wracked with leukemia, malnourished and whimpering in pain despite the morphine doctors were giving him, when Rosalia Bollen, a UNICEF official, said she saw him in late October. Islam al-Rayahen's family had asked Israeli authorities six times over the past months for permission to evacuate him from Gaza for a desperately needed stem cell transplant, Bollen said. Six times, the request was refused for unexplained security reasons, she said. Islam died three days after she saw him, Bollen said. Thousands of patients in Gaza are waiting for Israeli permission for urgently needed medical evacuation from Gaza for treatment of war wounds or chronic diseases they can't get after the destruction of much of the territory's health care system by Israel's 15-month military campaign. Among them are at least 2,500 children who UNICEF says must be transported immediately. They cannot afford to wait. These children wi

Over 2,400 children killed or injured in 1,000 days of Ukraine war: UNICEF

UNICEF further said that the attacks have severely disrupted water, heating and electricity services. Between March 22 and August 31 this year, attacks on energy infrastructure across Ukraine

Unicef issues tender to secure mpox vaccines for most-affected countries

The emergency tender is designed not only to secure immediate access to mpox vaccines but also to expand production

UAE signs agreement with UNICEF to aid humanitarian efforts in Sudan

The agreement allocates $ 6million for UNICEF's operations in Sudan and $ 1million for its activities in South Sudan