BARCELONA/ HONG KONG, 25 February 2016 – FC Barcelona and UNICEF renewed their commitment to the most vulnerable children today, signing a new 4-year agreement. The renewal comes as the two organizations mark the 10-year anniversary of a partnership that already has helped improve the lives of over 1 million children in seven countries.
SUVA/ HONG KONG, 25 February 2016 – As the full picture of the worst cyclone ever to hit Fiji becomes more apparent, UNICEF Pacific estimates that up to 120,000 children across the county may be worst affected.
Fiji/HONG KONG, 24 February 2016 – As Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Winston left Fiji on Sunday, thousands of families were braced for the after effects, including searching for loved ones, returning to and in some cases rebuilding their homes and beginning the huge task of clean up and reconstruction.
SUVA/ HONG KONG, 22 February 2016 – Less than 36 hours after Cyclone Winston devastated Fiji, UNICEF Pacific has begun assisting those most affected, in partnership with the Government of Fiji. UNICEF today began to distribute pre-positioned emergency supplies in Fiji, with a focus on distribution to worst-affected communities.
NEW YORK/ HONG KONG, 21 February, 2016 – In the wake of Cyclone Winston, UNICEF’s main concern is for children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers across Fiji. Little is yet known about the status of communities living on the outer islands of Fiji that were directly under the eye of Tropical Cyclone Winston- as communications remain down for many.
The Government is rapidly working to assess the overall situation in order to pinpoint the critical needs. The Fijian Government has declared a state of natural disaster for the next 30 days and has initiated the clean-up process by clearing the huge amounts of debris scattered everywhere.
NEW YORK/ HONG KONG, 20 February, 2016 – Alice Clements from UNICEF Pacific is in Suva, Fiji and experienced Cyclone Winston.
“We certainly felt the impact of Tropical Cyclone Winston in Suva with destructive, howling winds and the sound of rivets lifting from roofs a constant throughout the night. We can’t say for sure yet how the rest of the country fared but rapid assessments will be undertaken by the Fiji Government to determine the full impact and what response will be required. It is likely that smaller villages across Fiji will have suffered the most, given their infrastructures would be too weak to withstand the power of a category 5 cyclone. Families may have lost their homes and crops therefore leaving them without shelter, food and a livelihood. There is also considerable risk for those that live by the sea or rivers as flash flooding and river flooding could occur due to heavy rains.”
© UNICEF/UN03122/Gilbertson VII Photo – In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Government has begun restricting the flow of refugees and migrants on the move, and is allowing only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans to continue their journey. GENEVA/ HONG KONG, 19 February 2016 – An average of two children have drowned every day since September […]
© UNICEF/UN09083/Bershadskiy – A girl gets her oral polio vaccine in the children’s municipal policlinics. In total, 4.7 million Ukrainian children should be immunized against polio during the nationwide campaign this month. More than 200,000 children need psychosocial support GENEVA/ NEW YORK/KYIV/ HONG KONG, 19 February 2016 – The conflict in Ukraine has deeply affected […]
© UNICEF Malawi Johannesburg-Nairobi/ HONG KONG, 17 February 2016 – Almost one million children are in need of treatment for severe acute malnutrition in Eastern and Southern Africa, UNICEF said today. Two years of erratic rain and drought have combined with one of the most powerful El Niño events in 50 years to wreak havoc […]
When the headmaster calls her name, Nadine* jumps from her seat and runs up to the stage. She greets the teachers, grabs her certificate and turns to face dozens of cheering children. She is trying to hide her smile behind her hand, out of shyness, but everyone in the room can sense her happiness and pride.
Just four months after being released from the anti-balaka armed group in Bangui, along with 90 other children, Nadine, 17, has made it to the second rank in her class. A great turnaround for a life that had taken a turn for the worst three years ago, when the mostly Muslim seleka rebels started to march towards the capital where they finally overthrew the government. “I lived with my family in a town called Dekoa,” she says. “When the seleka rebels came into town, my mother was killed by a stray bullet, and my father was murdered just outside our house.”
With no family to support her, Nadine decided to join the rival militia, the anti-balaka (which in local language means anti-AK47 bullets). “They said if I came with them, I could become a woman and take care of my little brother,” she recalls.