Children

In Syria, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was able to access Al Hol camp, together with Syrian Government officials, and established contact with some residents. Essential supplies resumed following a three-day interruption, with bread trucks facilitated by UNHCR entering the camp today, and water trucks yesterday..

In Bangladesh, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched an emergency response following a large fire in a Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar on 20 January. Relief efforts are being carried out in close coordination with the Government of Bangladesh, as well as humanitarian partners.

In Mozambique, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that more than half a million people have been affected by recent floods, including in Gaza, Maputo and Sofala. Nearly 5,000 kilometres of roads are damaged across nine provinces, with the main road connecting Maputo to the rest of the country now inaccessible.

Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Ramiz Alakbarov has begun a three-day visit to the Gaza Strip. In Khan Younis, he met with displaced families who have been supported by the UN to move away from the flood-prone shoreline to Hamad City. He also visited Asda’a, where the UN has supported thousands of families for more than a year.

In Venezuela, the Pan American Health Organization, the World Health Organization’s regional arm, has received a shipment of 40 metric tons of essential medical and dialysis materials from the Government of Brazil, the first instalment of a package totalling up to 300 metric tons.

After the examination of the ninth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (S/2024/705) and the adoption of conclusions on the report, the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict agreed to address the following messages through a public statement by the Chair of the Working Group.

Air strikes in Myanmar’s Rakhine State on 10 December hit the general hospital in Mrauk-U Township, killing more than 30 civilians and injuring more than 70 others, including patients, caregivers and medical staff. The World Health Organization (WHO) says this is the sixty-seventh verified attack on health in Myanmar this year.

Launching its Humanitarian Action for Children 2026 appeal today, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is seeking $7.66 billion to provide life-saving support to 73 million children in 133 countries next year. This comes as severe shortfalls in 2024 and 2025 are forcing UNICEF to make impossible choices.

In Sudan, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today called for urgent action to safeguard children and essential services in the country. UNICEF estimates that 10 million people have been displaced there; half of those 10 million are children. This is the highest level of child displacement in the world.

Typhoons in South and South-East Asia have had a devastating impact on children’s education. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that since late November, more than 4.1 million children in Viet Nam, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia have had their education disrupted due to climate-related disasters.