Pandemic risks pushing millions more into child labor, U.N. says
Millions of children could be pushed into work by the coronavirus crisis, the U.N. said Friday as it braced for the first rise in child labor in two decades. In a joint brief, the International Labour Organization and UNICEF noted that the number of children ...
Children in South Asia at risk as coronavirus disrupts immunization drive
Disruptions to immunization programs across South Asia due to the coronavirus pandemic are upending attempts to vaccinate millions of children against deadly diseases, UNICEF has warned. The pandemic has interrupted vaccine supply chains and left families fearful of attending clinics, UNICEF said, creating another looming ...
At current rate, female genital mutilation will take centuries to eradicate, U.N. says
Female genital mutilation (FGM) will take centuries to eradicate despite world leaders promising to end the practice by 2030, according to United Nations data released on Thursday. FGM remains as common today as 30 years ago in Somalia, Mali, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Chad and Senegal, ...
Samoa measles death toll rises to 37 amid anti-vax push: WHO
A measles epidemic raging in Samoa has killed 37 people, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, blaming an anti-vaccine messaging campaign for leaving the Pacific island nation vulnerable to the spread of the virus. The U.N. health agency warned that a steep decline in vaccination ...
Japanese envoy and UNICEF press for childhood vaccinations amid rise in misinformation
Japan's envoy to the United Nations joined forces with the head of UNICEF on Friday to push the world to make sure as many children as possible are vaccinated against potentially fatal diseases amid a rise in misinformation about immunization programs. "Ensuring and scaling up ...
Tripoli's children struggle to study as war reaches the capital
For 13-year-old Taha Aboud, who dreams of becoming an engineer, war in Libya's capital Tripoli has meant his family fleeing their home and him missing studies as they searched for a new school. "I'm happy to be back at school. I hope to become a ...
Japan offers most paid leave for fathers worldwide but few take it, UNICEF report finds
Japan leads the world in offering paid leave for fathers, but few take advantage of it, according to a new report by UNICEF based on legal entitlements from 2016. The report — called "Are the world's richest countries family-friendly?" — looks at the globe's most ...
Ex-Japan captain Makoto Hasebe visits Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh
Soccer player Makoto Hasebe, who serves as Japan's national UNICEF goodwill ambassador, visited a Muslim Rohingya refugee camp in southern Bangladesh on Thursday to call greater attention to the refugees' plight. At a press briefing in Dhaka following his visit, the Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder lamented ...
Ebola treatment center in Congo reopens after attack, but MSF yet to return
An Ebola treatment center at the epicenter of the current outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has resumed operations after it was closed in response to an attack last week, the Congolese health ministry said on Sunday. The facility in the city of Butembo ...
U.N. warns of 'lost generation' of Rohingya children as half a million languish in refugee camps
The United Nations warned on Thursday of what it described as a lost generation of Muslim Rohingya children, with half a million in refugee camps in Bangladesh facing dangers including disease and floods and those still in Myanmar lacking access to proper education. One year ...
UNICEF and Lixil join hands to improve toilet access for children
UNICEF and major water and housing equipment maker Lixil Corp. announced on Thursday that they forged a partnership to address sanitation problems that put hundreds of children in danger every day. A joint agreement entitled "Make a splash! Toilets for Everyone!" aims to achieve one ...
Starving Rohingya girls and women in refugee camps seen forced to engage in clandestine prostitution
As Rohingya women struggle to access even the very basics such as food and water in Bangladesh's overcrowded camps, a flourishing sex trade offers cash in times of desperation. Four women entered the clean-swept mud hut, took off their black shawls and sat cross-legged on ...
