Responding to an unprecedented number of major humanitarian emergencies facing children by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 7:23pm 31st Jul, 2015   July 2015    Amid conflict in Yemen, UNICEF helps get children back to learning.    The ongoing conflict in Yemen is having a devastating impact on the country’s education system – and on the chances of millions of children to access learning.    Months of intensive bombardment and street fighting have forced more than 3,600 schools to close and driven students and their families to safer areas of the country. At least 248 schools have been directly damaged; 270 others are hosting Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and 68 are occupied by armed groups.    To help ensure that children don’t completely miss out on their education, UNICEF is supporting catch-up classes for over 200,000 students – just some out of around 1.8 million children whose schooling has been interrupted for two months or more.    The catch-up classes are for grade 9 and 12 students who have to take the national exams due to start in mid-August for them to obtain either the Basic or Secondary School Certificate.    “Giving Yemen’s children an education is crucial for their own futures as well as those of their families and communities”, said Julien Harneis, UNICEF Representative in Yemen. “We are doing all we can to return children to school so that they don’t completely lose out on their education. We urge the parties to the conflict to respect the safety of schools so as to give children a chance to learn”, he added.    The Ministry of Education is helping mobilise the necessary teachers, some of whom have themselves fled the violence. If schools are damaged, or are being used by displaced people or armed groups, temporary learning spaces such as tents will be provided.    Since the start of the conflict, UNICEF has been working with partners to facilitate the integration of students whose families have been displaced so that they can sit exams in any schools where the security situation permits.    UNICEF is also providing teaching and learning resources, including notebooks, pencils and school bags to the students, given that the income of many families has been severely affected, while markets have been destroyed or closed making it difficult for students to acquire the materials they need.    The next school year is scheduled to start on 5 September, but much will depend on the security situation. Students at schools that are able to resume teaching will be provided with catch up classes to cover more than two months’ of school time lost as a result of the conflict.    “I have seen children trying to write on the ground because they want to learn so much”, said Jameelah Sailan, Head Teacher of Arwa Girls’ School in Sa’ada Governorate.    “Many parents tell us how worried they are about their children missing out on school. They just hope the war can end so that life returns to normal and their children can continue to go to school and have a bright future”, Ms Sailan added.    With health services across Yemen disintegrating under the impact of a brutal conflict, UNICEF and its partners are stepping up nutrition screening, vaccinations and other life-saving interventions for millions of children caught up in the ongoing crisis.    “Our mobile teams and staff have to brave extremely hazardous conditions, risking their lives to reach children and women wherever they can. If they don’t do that more children are likely to die from malnutrition and preventable diseases”, said Julien Harneis, UNICEF Representative in Yemen.    “But what Yemen really needs now is a return to peace, a solution to the fuel and power crisis and restoration of regular health services”, Mr Harneis added.    Since the fighting escalated in March, over 40,000 children have been vaccinated against measles and polio while close to 10,000 pregnant women received support for safe pregnancy and delivery through outreach and mobile health teams. More than 16,000 children have so far been treated for severe malnutrition.    Much of the work is undertaken by some 40 UNICEF-supported mobile health teams (up from just 16 before March) which have been deployed across the country to reach displaced populations. The services they deliver include screening for malnutrition, vaccination, deworming, treatment of malnutrition and childhood diseases, and support to pregnant and lactating women. Vitamin A and other micronutrient supplements are also provided to children and mothers.    In the southern city of Aden, which has witnessed particularly heavy bombardment and fighting, UNICEF supplied emergency ambulances as well as blood testing and transfusion services in the first weeks of the conflict to ensure that injured children can receive immediate treatment.    Currently the UNICEF team in Aden is supporting an immunization campaign as part of a nation-wide drive that aims to vaccinate around a million children under the age of one against measles, polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.    “In spite of the insecurity, we are taking every opportunity to ensure that we reach children with healthcare services, especially vaccinations to protect them at this time when the health system has crumbled” said Dr Gamila Hibatulla, Nutrition and Health Officer for UNICEF in Aden. She explains that the mobile teams have to use whatever sites they can find – including mosques and other public places – to deliver their services. “It’s encouraging to see the parents bringing their children to the vaccination centres. They just tell us how happy they are that their children can be protected against diseases”, Ms Hibatulla adds.    The deteriorating situation in Yemen is taking a heavy toll on children’s health. Today, over 2.5 million children are at risk of diarrhoeal diseases and half a million are at risk of severe acute malnutrition. Over 1.3 million children face the threat of acute respiratory tract infections and 2.6 million of them under the age of 15 are not protected against measles.    UNICEF reiterates the United Nations call for a humanitarian ceasefire to enable the urgent delivery of food, water and medical attention to the most vulnerable population.    14 million children impacted by conflict in Syria and Iraq    Some 14 million children across the region are now suffering from the escalating conflict sweeping Syria and much of Iraq.    With the conflict in Syria now entering its fifth year, the situation of more than 5.6 million children inside the country remains the most desperate. That includes up to 2 million children who are living in areas of the country largely cut off from humanitarian assistance due to fighting or other factors. Some 2.6 million Syrian children are still out of school.    Almost 2 million Syrian children are living as refugees in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and other countries. This is in addition to the 3.6 million children from vulnerable communities hosting refugees, who themselves are suffering due to the strain on services like education and health.    Meanwhile, the increasingly interlinked crisis gripping Iraq has forced more than 2.8 million children from their homes, and left many trapped in areas controlled by armed groups.    “For the youngest children, this crisis is all they have ever known. For adolescents entering their formative years, violence and suffering have not only scarred their past; they are shaping their futures,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake.    “As the crisis is in its fifth year, this generation of young people is still in danger of being lost to a cycle of violence - replicating in the next generation what they suffered in their own.”    The appalling crisis in Syria is now in its fifth year. A crisis that continues to exact an unconscionable human cost. More than 200,000 people have been killed. Children and young people are subject to and surrounded by violence, despair and deprivation. More than 12.2 million people in Syria need life-saving aid and 3.9 million refugees have fled across borders seeking safety and security.    We have expressed our horror, our outrage, our frustration as we have watched the tragedy unfold.    “We need world leaders to use their influence to bring about meaningful change in Syria: to press the parties to end indiscriminate attacks on civilians; to secure the lifting of sieges where more than 200,000 people have been trapped without food for months; to enable delivery of vital surgical and other medical supplies; to end the collective punishment of civilians by cutting off of water and power supplies; and to avoid the complete collapse of the education system. The people of Syria – and people around the world – want the suffering to end.    Millions of children in Syria at high risk of disease amid water scarcity and summer heat    Dwindling supplies of safe drinking water during Syria’s scorching summer months are exposing children to the threat of water-borne diseases, UNICEF warns.    Since the beginning of the year, Syria has reported 105,886 cases of acute diarrhoea. There has also been a sharp increase of Hepatitis A cases with a record 1,700 cases reported in one week alone last February.    The intensification of conflict across the country has caused new waves of population displacement placing further strain on an already fragile water and sanitation network.    “The situation is alarming particularly for children who are susceptible to water borne diseases,” says Hanaa Singer UNICEF’s Representative in Syria. “With the crisis now in its fifth year, water has become even more scarce and unsafe, and poor hygiene conditions especially among the displaced communities are putting more children at severe risk.”    One area where the risk of disease outbreak is particularly high is Deir-Ez-Zour in the east. Reports indicate that raw sewage is causing serious contamination to the Euphrates river on which the local population depends for its water supply. In the area 1,144 of typhoid cases have been reported.    High fuel prices are another factor impacting civilians’ access to water. In Idleb in the west of Syria, fuel prices have tripled to 500 Syrian pounds (2.6 US$) per litre. In addition, water pumping stations are operating only two hours a day reducing the availability of water to only 20 litres a day per person.    In another worrying development, the closure of the border crossing with Jordan is disrupting the delivery of critical water treatment supplies into Syria. Before its closure in early April, UNICEF used the crossing to deliver on average half a million litres of water treatment material every month. As a result, stocks inside Syria are running low.    “Since the beginning of the crisis, we’ve been working with a range of partners to support the vital water infrastructure on which some 15 million people in Syria depend.” says Singer. “This includes drilling and equipping wells as alternative sources of water as well as supporting the local production and procurement of water treatment supplies”.    UNICEF is urgently appealing for funding for its water, sanitation and hygiene response inside Syria.    June, 2015    Iraq on the brink of humanitarian disaster due to surging conflict and massive funding shortfall warns UN    Vital aid operations supporting millions of people affected by the conflict in Iraq risk closure unless funds are made available immediately, the official overseeing humanitarian operations in the country said.    With escalating conflict, the United Nations and its NGO partners are asking donors for US$ 497 million to cover the cost of providing shelter, food, water and other life-saving services over the coming six months. The appeal will target communities across broad swathes of the country displaced or affected by the violence.    Speaking at the appeal launch at the European Parliament in Brussels, the United Nation’s Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Ms. Lise Grande said the aid operation was hanging by a thread.    “The crisis in Iraq is one of the most complex and volatile anywhere in the world,” she said. “Humanitarian partners have been doing everything they can to help. But more than 50 per cent of the operation will be shut down or cut back if money is not received immediately”.    The implications of this, Ms. Grande added, would be “catastrophic.”    The humanitarian needs in Iraq are huge and growing. More than 8 million people require immediate life-saving support, a number that could reach 10 million by the end of 2015.    Violence has already forced nearly 3 million people from their homes, leaving them scattered in more than 3,000 locations across the country. Human rights and rule of law are under constant assault as sectarian tensions sharpen. Horrendous acts of violence are rampant.    So serious is the funding shortfall that 77 frontline health clinics have been forced to close and food rations for over 1 million people have been reduced. Without additional funding, many more life-saving services will be withdrawn.    The international community must do its absolute utmost to meet the humanitarian needs in Iraq. Along with the life-saving assistance, there is a critical need to focus on access to education, as a way to help save this generation of children marked by conflict and violence.    7 July 2015    Children make up one fifth of cholera deaths in South Sudan    More than 700 cholera cases have been reported in Juba and Bor so far, resulting in 32 deaths – one in five of which are children under five, UNICEF said today. Stressing the role of education in stemming the cholera outbreak in South Sudan, the UN children’s agency is working with children and teachers throughout the country to raise awareness on how to prevent the disease from spreading further.    “Cholera is a deadly disease that inordinately affects young children,” said the UNICEF Representative in South Sudan, Jonathan Veitch. “One of the most powerful ways we can respond to this outbreak is by equipping school-children with the information and tools they need to protect themselves and their families.”    In Central Equatoria, the location of the outbreak, students and teachers in schools near cholera hotspots have invited UNICEF to make school visits to raise awareness of the main risk factors. Some 1,340 students and 30 teachers have already benefited from life-saving information, with a goal of reaching 150 schools.    UNICEF and partners, including WHO and the Ministry of Health, are working throughout the country to put schools at the forefront of the response. Teachers and students are being educated on hygiene promotion including the importance of handwashing with soap and safe handling of food.    In UNICEF Child Friendly Spaces, children are being trained and encouraged to raise awareness among their own families and communities – an important measure in South Sudan where 70 per cent of adults cannot read or write. UNICEF and partners are also broadcasting cholera prevention messages and hosting talk shows on 19 radio stations and putting up posters in schools and public locations.    In addition, UNICEF is responding to the cholera outbreak by strengthening health facilities, distributing soap to communities, conducting vaccination campaigns in crowded Protection of Civilian sites and by raising awareness in vulnerable communities about prevention and early detection by training volunteers, teachers and religious leaders.    Veitch warned that if the current outbreak spreads beyond current locations, especially into the states affected by conflict, the lack of functioning health facilities could lead to a devastating loss of life. Currently 184 health facilities have been closed or destroyed in conflict-affected areas.    “It’s a race against time to prevent the spread of cholera up the river Nile, especially during rainy season. Our priority right now is reaching the most vulnerable children who urgently need clean water and vaccinations.”    27 May 2015    Children face worsening nutrition crisis as South Sudan fighting intensifies    The lives of nearly a quarter of a million children are at significant risk as food and nutrition security rapidly deteriorate in parts of South Sudan, UNICEF said today. The crisis comes as a result of ongoing conflict, diminished household food stocks and a shrinking economy.    According to the latest predictions from the IPC technical group, of which UNICEF is a member, the number of people facing severe food insecurity has almost doubled since the start of the year from 2.5 million to an estimated 4.6 million people, including approximately 874,000 children under the age of five. This is the highest number of families at crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity since the start of the conflict in December 2013.    UNICEF continues to warn that children trapped by fighting without access to basic medical services and food will struggle to survive this lean season without an urgent resumption of humanitarian assistance in conflict-affected areas.    “Despite all the progress made in the last year with our partners to treat more children than ever before for malnutrition, the lives of vulnerable women and children - who have exhausted all coping mechanisms available to them - are on the line,” said UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan, Jonathan Veitch.    Child malnutrition rates remain above the emergency threshold of 15 per cent in both conflict-affected and high-burden states. Nearly one in three children under five are malnourished in the worst-hit areas of Greater Upper Nile, Warrup and Northern Bahr el Ghazal. Very high rates of severe acute malnutrition (up to 10 per cent) have been observed in Unity State in recent UNICEF surveys. If these children are not reached with treatment, they are nine times more likely to die than a healthy child.    Adding to an already dire situation, heavy fighting in Greater Upper Nile has forced at least 100,000 people to flee their homes in May alone, abandoning their crucial lifelines of food stocks, cattle and crops. A number of UNICEF’s nutrition partners have been forced to withdraw services.    “Unless humanitarians are given access to deliver lifesaving services to children and to continue prepositioning supplies before roads become impassable during the rainy season, an already fragile situation will become catastrophic,” said UNICEF’s Veitch.    Through the national Nutrition Scale Up Programme and Rapid Response Missions to remote, conflict-affected areas, UNICEF and partners have treated almost 50,000 children for severe acute malnutrition thus far in 2015.    With a funding shortfall of 75 per cent this year, UNICEF is urgently appealing for US $25 million to continue its lifesaving nutrition response in South Sudan.    31 July 2015    More than 70,000 children born during the Ebola outbreak in Liberia at risk of exclusion if not registered, warns UNICEF    UNICEF is supporting a drive by the Liberian Government to register more than 70,000 children whose births were not recorded during the Ebola crisis, leaving them vulnerable to marginalization and exclusion.    Birth registrations in 2014 and 2015 dropped sharply from pre-Ebola levels, according to Ministry of Health data. In 2013, before the onset of the virus, the births of 79,000 children were registered. In 2014, when many health facilities had closed or had reduced services due to the Ebola response, the number of registrations fell to 48,000 – a 39 per cent decrease over the previous year.    Just 700 children are reported to have had their births registered between January and May 2015.    “Children who have not been registered at birth officially don’t exist,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF’s Representative in Liberia. “Without citizenship, children in Liberia, who have already experienced terrible suffering because of Ebola, risk marginalization because they may be unable to access basic health and social services, obtain identity documents, and will be in danger of being trafficked or illegally adopted.”    UNICEF is supporting the revamp of the registration systems, and will assist with training, logistics, and outreach efforts prior to a planned nationwide campaign later this year, with the aim of reaching all children not registered in 2014 and 2015.    “Children are the future of Liberia. We cannot jeopardize their future by not having their births registered,” says Hon. Bernice Dahn, Minister of Health in Liberia. “We have scaled up efforts to clear the backlog of birth registrations from before the Ebola outbreak, and are working with UNICEF and other partners to plan an intensive nationwide birth registration campaign in the coming months.”    In neighbouring Sierra Leone, where the Ebola emergency similarly weakened the country’s already fragile health systems, approximately 250,000 children were registered during a recent five-day birth registration and polio vaccination campaign.    “No child should suffer the indignity, or not have protection from a state or other entities, and be unable to access basic services that are every child’s right just because of a lack of a registered identity, says Yett. “We cannot, and should never let that happen.”    Prior to the Ebola outbreak, UNICEF helped increase birth registration rates in Liberia from 4 per cent –then the world’s second lowest rate – to 25 per cent in 2013.    24 April 2015    Immunization drive under way for 3 million children in Ebola-hit countries    For the first time since the start of the Ebola outbreak, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are conducting major nationwide immunization campaigns to protect millions of children against preventable but potentially deadly diseases.    As World Immunization Week is marked from April 24 to 30, the three countries most affected by Ebola aim to vaccinate more than three million children against diseases such as measles and polio in UNICEF-supported campaigns that involve the provision of vaccines and the training and deployment of thousands of immunization teams.    “While the effort to get to zero cases of Ebola continues, it’s critical that basic health services are restored,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “Stepping up immunization programs that were disrupted by the epidemic will save lives and prevent a reversal of the health gains that were made in these countries before the outbreak.”    In Sierra Leone, a mother and child health week begins today with the provision of Vitamin A, deworming pills and screening for malnutrition. More than 10,000 vaccinators and distributors will be going door-to-door across the country to deliver the interventions, which also include updates for those aged 0-23 months who have missed routine vaccinations. In May, an immunization drive for 1.5 million children under five will cover measles and polio.    A nationwide measles campaign got under way in Guinea on April 18 to vaccinate 1.3 million children aged six months to nine years. Some 100,000 children were vaccinated during an initial response to a measles outbreak in February. UNICEF also conducted community sensitization campaigns to inform the public of the safety of the vaccinations.    In Liberia, a campaign to provide measles and polio vaccinations to over 700,000 children under five years old is planned for May 8-14. UNICEF has supplied over 750,000 doses of measles vaccines, and, together with its partners is training more than 3,000 vaccinators and county health officials. It is also working with the Government of Liberia on nationwide social mobilization efforts to raise awareness of the campaign.    As the immunization campaigns are taking place while the threat of Ebola remains, vaccinators are following strict protocols including the use of protective wear, such as gloves and aprons, as well as regular handwashing.    More than 26,000 cases of Ebola and 10,000 deaths have been reported across the three countries where the outbreak has weakened already fragile health systems while disrupting routine health interventions.    Central African Republic: Two out of five children without vital aid    A year after extreme violence tore through the Central African Republic, two out of five children in urgent need of UNICEF’s support are without vital humanitarian aid    UNICEF says a critical lack of funding and insecurity have left children they expected to help this year without access to essential health services, water, education and protection.    “Children in the Central African Republic are no longer making headlines, but over 2.5 million of them continue to live in constant fear,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa.    “They have little access to essential services and rely entirely on humanitarian aid. As we prepare to mark the New Year, we must seize the chance to give these children a better future.”    With less than half of the required emergency funding received this year, and limited humanitarian access due to violence, UNICEF struggled to deliver vital life-saving assistance that communities needed.    620,000 people were unable to receive basic healthcare and medicines. 250,000 people were unable to access improved sources of water. 33,000 children were not vaccinated against measles. 5,000 severely malnourished children under-five could not be treated.    At the peak of the crisis, fighting and widespread clashes forced nearly half a million children to flee their homes. The conflict has torn apart communities across the country, leaving in its wake destruction and a collapse of basic services. According to UNICEF, an average of at least one child was killed or maimed every day this year in the Central African Republic. Up to 10,000 children were recruited by armed groups.    “Behind the horror of rape and killings, there are many teachers, vaccinators, social workers, doctors on the frontline who take risks every day for children,” said Manuel Fontaine. “Without support, their life-saving work is under threat, and we are likely to lose most of what we have achieved this year.”    Together with local authorities and partners, UNICEF was able to make life-saving services accessible to thousands of families in need. Close to 1.4 million people received medicines; more than 1 million children were vaccinated against polio; approximately 550,000 mosquito nets were distributed to protect families from malaria and over 22,300 severely malnourished children received therapeutic treatment.    In the past 12 months, violence has caused 188,000 new refugees to flee into neighbouring Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo. Over 80 per cent of the people fleeing violence across borders are children and women. In addition, about 430,000 people who have fled their homes remain displaced within the Central African Republic itself.    UNICEF is seeking funds to be able to carry out its emergency programmes in Central African Republic, which aim to re-build social services, protect civilians, engage communities to foster reconciliation and promote peace.    Hundreds of thousands of children in war-torn Central African Republic to have the chance to restart education    Hundreds of thousands of children in conflict-hit Central African Republic – some of whom have missed up to two years of formal education – will have the chance to get back to school as a campaign gets underway. The initiative, supported by UNICEF, aims to help 662,000 children resume their studies, as schools gradually reopen in safer areas of the country.    UNICEF and partners will provide education supplies such as schools-in-a-box, a kit containing essentials like exercise books and pencils, and school backpacks to approximately 400,000 students, as part of nationwide efforts led by local authorities.    “The reopening of schools is a ray of hope for children who haven’t entered a classroom for months and even years,” said Mohamed Malick Fall, UNICEF Representative in Central African Republic. “Where it’s safe, children can and should go back to school. Where it’s too dangerous, we do all we can so they can learn – even without a formal classroom.”    Nearly two years of violence in the Central African Republic have affected more than 2 million children and have plunged the country’s formal education system into a state of crisis. Many school buildings have been either damaged or taken over for other purposes. At the end of the school year last July, almost sixty per cent of the schools were still closed. When the security situation further deteriorated about a year ago, many teachers and students were forced to flee and many parents lost their sources of income and could not afford basic school materials.    The return to school will take place gradually on the ground. Priority is given to safe locations, where learning materials will be distributed and teacher training provided.    In areas deemed insecure, children are unlikely to return to school immediately but will instead benefit from alternative learning methods developed by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education.    “A classroom is not only a place where children are taught how to count, read and write,” said Fall. “Especially in times of conflict, a classroom is a laboratory where the next generation of Central African citizens learns how to live together in peace and harmony. More than ever in this country devastated by violence, investing in education must be a top priority.”    UNICEF continues to call on all parties to the conflict to uphold the safety and protection of all children, and to respect the status of schools in line with humanitarian principles and law.    UNICEF declares 2014 a devastating year for children, with 15 million children caught up in major conflicts    The year 2014 has been one of horror, fear and despair for millions of children, as worsening conflicts across the world saw them exposed to extreme violence and its consequences, forcibly recruited and deliberately targeted by warring groups, UNICEF said today. Yet many crises no longer capture the world’s attention, warned the children’s agency.    “This has been a devastating year for millions of children,” said Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director. “Children have been killed while studying in the classroom and while sleeping in their beds; they have been orphaned, kidnapped, tortured, recruited, raped and even sold as slaves. Never in recent memory have so many children been subjected to such unspeakable brutality.”    As many as 15 million children are caught up in violent conflicts in the Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan, the State of Palestine, Syria and Ukraine – including those internally displaced or living as refugees. Globally, an estimated 230 million children currently live in countries and areas affected by armed conflicts.    In 2014, hundreds of children have been kidnapped from their schools or on their way to school. Tens of thousands have been recruited or used by armed forces and groups. Attacks on education and health facilities and use of schools for military purposes have increased in many places.    In the Central African Republic, 2.3 million children are affected by the conflict, up to 10,000 children are believed to have been recruited by armed groups over the last year, and more than 430 children have been killed and maimed – three times as many as in 2013.    In Gaza, 54,000 children were left homeless as a result of the 50-day conflict during the summer that also saw 538 children killed, and more than 3,370 injured. In Syria, with more than 7.3 million children affected by the conflict including 1.7 million child refugees, the United Nations verified at least 35 attacks on schools in the first nine months of the year, which killed 105 children and injured nearly 300 others.    In Iraq, where an estimated 2.7 million children are affected by conflict, at least 700 children are believed to have been maimed, killed or even executed this year. In both countries, children have been victims of, witnesses to and even perpetrators of increasingly brutal and extreme violence.    In South Sudan, an estimated 235,000 children under five are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Almost 750,000 children have been displaced and more than 320,000 are living as refugees. According to UN verified data, more than 600 children have been killed and over 200 maimed this year, and around 12,000 children are now being used by armed forces and groups.    The sheer number of crises in 2014 meant that many were quickly forgotten or captured little attention. Protracted crises in countries like Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, continued to claim even more young lives and futures.    This year has also posed significant new threats to children’s health and well-being, most notably the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, which has left thousands of children orphaned and an estimated 5 million out of school.    Despite the tremendous challenges children have faced in 2014, there has been hope for millions of children affected by conflict and crisis. In the face of access restrictions, insecurity, and funding challenges, humanitarian organizations including UNICEF have worked together to provide life-saving assistance and other critical services like education and emotional support to help children growing up in some of the most dangerous places in the world.    “It is sadly ironic that in this, the 25th anniversary year of the Convention on the Rights of the Child when we have been able to celebrate so much progress for children globally, the rights of so many millions of other children have been so brutally violated,” said Lake.    “Violence and trauma do more than harm individual children – they undermine the strength of societies. The world can and must do more to make 2015 a much better year for every child. For every child who grows up strong, safe, healthy and educated is a child who can go on to contribute to her own, her family’s, her community’s, her nation’s and, indeed, to our common future.    http://www.unicef.org/ http://www.unicef.org/emergencies/ http://blogs.unicef.org/ Visit the related web page
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