Latest United Nations Children's Fund News

Botswana holds an election where the diamond trade has become a central issue

Oct. 30, 2024 08:43 AM EDT

GABORONE, Botswana (AP) — Botswana held a national election on Wednesday to decide if one of Africa's longest-ruling parties stays in power for another five-year term. The Botswana Democratic Party has governed the southern African nation for 58 years, since independence from...

UN official calls for more attention to Sudan’s 'forgotten' war amid fresh atrocities

Oct. 25, 2024 17:04 PM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — A senior United Nations official on Friday called for more international attention to “the forgotten crisis” in Sudan, where more than a year and a half of war pushed the African country to the brink of famine. The appeal by Ted Chaiban, deputy head of the U.N....

The UN says over 400,000 children in Lebanon have been displaced in 3 weeks by war

Oct. 15, 2024 06:10 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — More than 400,000 children in Lebanon have been displaced in the past three weeks, a top official with the U.N. children’s agency said Monday, warning of a “lost generation” in the small country grappling with multiple crises and now in the middle of war. Israel...

Fast-rising cholera cases across war-torn Sudan alarm the UN

Oct. 08, 2024 10:55 AM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — Cholera cases in war-torn Sudan increased by nearly 40% in less than two weeks, according to the latest figures, alarming the U.N. health officials, who long warned about the outbreak and the lack of proper response since it was reported in July. Sudan’s health...

Fighting in Sudan's North Darfur kills at least 13 children, UNICEF says

Oct. 07, 2024 06:03 AM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — Fighting between the Sudanese military and its rival paramilitary in Sudan ’s North Darfur killed at least 13 children and injured four others, UNICEF said. The children were between 6 and 17 years old, the U.N. agency said in a statement on Sunday. ...

Civil society groups nudge and cajole world leaders from the sidelines of United Nations week

Sep. 27, 2024 17:26 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — As the meeting of world leaders kicked off at the United Nations on Sunday, across Manhattan on an elevated park that runs along old rail lines, throngs of people streamed through a “climate science fair” showcasing work on nature, food and the energy transition. ...

WHO grants first mpox vaccine approval to ramp up response to disease in Africa

Sep. 13, 2024 12:15 PM EDT

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization said Friday it has granted its first authorization for use of a vaccine against mpox in adults, calling it an important step toward fighting the disease in Africa. The approval of the vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic A/S means that donors...

The first 100,000 doses of mpox vaccine reach Congo. But it's a fraction of what is needed

Sep. 05, 2024 14:33 PM EDT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The first batch of mpox vaccine arrived in Congo’s capital on Thursday, the country’s authorities said, three weeks after the World Health Organization declared mpox outbreaks in 12 African countries a global emergency. The 100,000 doses of the JYNNEOS...

Israel-Hamas war latest: UNICEF says polio vaccination campaign in Gaza is surpassing its target

Sep. 04, 2024 22:30 PM EDT

The U.N. children’s agency says a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza reached 189,000 children, surpassing its target and providing a “rare bright spot” in nearly 11 months of war. UNICEF said Wednesday that more than 500 teams deployed across central Gaza this week,...