UNICEF News

To mark Refugee week, UNICEF Australia Young Ambassadors Marryum Kahloon and Isuru Devendra are raising awareness of children in immigration detention.
Read more...

UNICEF Jordan has released a new report that assesses the challenges faced by Syrian refugee children.  Read more...

AN estimated 215 million children head out to work every day despite international laws to prevent child labour and worldwide campaigns calling for consumer power to end child labour practices.
The World Day against Child Labour, held annually on June 12, calls for a global commitment to end the harmful practice and is supported by UNICEF.
Read more...

UNICEF Australia today released its 2012 Annual Report. In 2012 Australians donated more then $20 million to UNICEF programs worldwide that protect and improve the rights of children.
Read more...

Understanding the world through the eyes, ears, movement and behaviours of a child living with a disability is at the heart of a new global UNICEF report out today.
Read more...

Despite heavy fighting, UNICEF and partners have provided life-saving supplies over the last week to some of the hardest to reach areas in Syria, including Aleppo and Al Houla, as well as children and women who fled recent violence in Al Bayda and Baniyas. 
Read more...

THE fight against maternal and neo-natal tetanus has received a much needed shot in the arm with Australians buying more than 3,300 vaccinations this Mother’s Day. A partnership between UNICEF Australia and Kiwanis and promoted by television presenter Carrie Bickmore campaigned for Australians to purchase vaccinations to prevent the deadly disease as a Mother's Day charity gift. Read more...

What has foreign aid achieved since 1990?
Read more...

UNICEF Australia has welcomed the call from Australia’s business leaders for Australia’s major parties to commit to giving 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income as aid by 2016.
Read more...

One baby dies from neonatal tetanus every nine minutes. The Mother's Day Project, from Kiwanis and UNICEF aims to provide vaccinations to 61 million women in 30 countries. Read more...

Today, at the Global Vaccine Summit, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) presented a new six-year plan, the first plan to eradicate all types of polio disease – both wild poliovirus and vaccine-derived cases – by 2018. Read more...

Christopher Fabian and Erica Kochi, co-leads of UNICEF’s Innovation Unit, have been selected for this year’s TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the hundred most influential people in the world.
 
Read more...

Immunisation is among the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions to save children’s lives. Read more...

Internationally acclaimed American singer and songwriter Katy Perry has visited Madagascar to bring attention to the situation of children in the tropical island country, one of the poorest in the world and still recovering from a political crisis that began in 2009. Read more...

In mid-March, UNICEF disabilities chief Rosangela Berman-Bieler visited Australia from New York. Read more...

UNICEF Australia’s Global Parents last month received the first edition of the UNICEF Globe for 2013. Read more...

Good Aid works - and this month we're taking some time out to focus on the real progress we've made on child rights.
Read more...

ONE in nine people around the world don’t have access to life’s most basic need: safe, clean water. A further 2.5 billion people lack improved sanitation facilities. Poor sanitation, water and hygiene have serious repercussions. World Water Day raises awareness of the children who die every day from unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene. Read more...

Friday, March 15 marks two years since the start of civil unrest in Syria.
 
Read more...

If we know aid works, why are our politicians wavering on a promise to fund it?
That’s the question UNICEF Australia’s advocacy team is putting to voters in the lead-up to the Federal Election later this year. Read more...

Shaikra has thanked the thousands of fans who took part in herWorld Baby Shower.
Read more...

VIDEO: Syrian children discuss escaping violence in the Syrian Arab Republic and their current situation in Lebanon as refugees. Read more...

FEEL better, sleep better and help make the world a better place for children with UNICEF’s new partnership with the Global Corporate Challenge® (GCC). To mark the 10th year of the challenge and its success in improving the health of corporate workforces around the world, GCC has partnered with UNICEF to improve the health of the world’s children. The partnership, announced late in January, will put water pumps into communities with the support of GCC participants.

Read more...

One month in, 2013 is already shaping up to be a difficult year for children. Read more...

IKEA customers and co-workers around the world raised $12 million (€9.3 million) in the annual IKEA Soft Toys for Education campaign. IKEA Foundation is donating this to help improve children’s education in Africa, Central- and Eastern Europe as well as Asia through UNICEF and Save the Children.
Read more...

Thousands of families are displaced in Mali as fighting continues.
Read more...

See new film The Impossible at a Hoyts cinema and $1 will be donated to UNICEF Australia. Read more...

UNICEF Australia has received notice of a scam email advertising fake job vacancies that uses UNICEF branding and false contact details.
Read more...

Three years on from the earthquake in Haiti, what's life like for children?
Read more...

WHILE much of Australia suffers extreme heat this week, refugees fleeing violence in Syria are bracing against extreme cold.
Read more...

Look back on the year that was and the achievements we've made together.
Read more...

Download a free child rights calendar for 2013.
Read more...

A spin on the twelve days of Christmas featuring UNICEF Australia's range of Inspired Gifts.
Read more...

When 23 year old Tselane found out she was HIV-Postive, she feared for her unborn child. Two years later her daughter is strong and healthy.
Read more...

One in three people around the world do not have a toilet and about 780 million people don’t have access to a safe, clean water source. November 19 is designated as World Toilet Day to raise awareness of the issues around good sanitation. Read more...

Make your season's greetings extra merry with UNICEF Christmas Cards this year. Read more...

When you think about summer in Australia – water is often involved. Going to the beach or the pool, playing in the sprinklers, enjoying cold drinks… Read more...

Purchase an IKEA Soft Toys and help children across Africa and Asia go to school.
Read more...

Ditch the lollies this Halloween  and collect funds for vulnerable children with UNICEF Trick or Treat.
Read more...

Students across Australia will mark UNICEF Day for Children by helping fund an education for their peers in Asia. UNICEF Day for Children is UNICEF Australia’s annual fundraising event for schools, celebrated each year on October 24. Read more...

UNICEF Australia’s hand-picked football side of celebrities took on Fox Sports' soccer heavyweights for Football Aid on October 13.
Read more...

On October 11 we celebrate the inaugural International Day of the Girl Child.
Read more...

An exciting new technology developed by UNICEF, RapidSMS, allows workers in remote communities to send text messages on health, food and mosquito nets, with the online data being available for immediate use. Read more...

September marks 21 years since UNICEF and Qantas teamed up to transform the lives through Change for Good.
 
Remarkably, the simple gesture of placing spare coins and notes inside Change for Good envelopes has raised over $25 million to UNICEF’s overseas programmes. To acknowledge this milestone, six Qantas cabin crew recently travelled to Laos to see the impact these vital donations are having on children’s lives. Read more...

New child mortality figures show a 41 per cent decline in preventable child deaths since 1990 and point to the success of aid spending. Read more...

This Father's Day we asked you to tell us on Twitter why your Dad is your hero, with the chance to win a UNICEF t-shirt signed by Socceroo Tim Cahill. Read more...

This September, IKEA and UNICEF celebrated over ten years of working together to help more than 74 million children in India create a better future for themselves and their families.
Read more...

Dine out this September and help children suffering a food crisis in West Africa through the 2012 Bread for Good 2012 campaign.
Read more...

Dads are special; in fact, we think they’re heroes. This Father’s Day, what better gift to Dad than to tell him why you think he’s a hero? In fact, if you tell us and the Twitter World, you’ll go in the draw to win your dad a UNICEF shirt signed by Socceroo, New York Red Bulls player and UNICEF Australia Ambassador Tim Cahill. Read more...

Last year, devastation from the droughts in East Africa made worldwide news. With more than 12.4 million people affected by the crisis, three guys - Dan Camilleri, James Camilleri and Mark Dawes - set out to raise money to help those in need.
Read more...

Over 200 people ran the City2Surf for Team UNICEF.
Read more...

UNICEF has received credible reports that armed groups in the north of Mali are increasingly recruiting and using children for military purposes.
Read more...

A group of students at Craigmore High School in South Australia recently took the opportunity to participate in UNICEF’s Youth Advocate Program. Read more...

After a flurry of voting through Facebook and email over the last week the votes are in and we are happy to announce the card winners that will feature in this year’s exclusive card pack.
Read more...

To celebrate UNICEF Change for Good’s 21st Anniversary, six passionate Qantas Ambassadors were chosen to see first-hand the impact Change for Good donations are having on children’s lives.


Read more...

Basic human rights must be the benchmark when we talk about violence against Indigenous women and children. Read more...

UNICEF Executive Director, Dr Anthony Lake, was in Australia this week on a visiting mission from headquarters in New York. Read more...

UNICEF is supporting a new campaign from the Human Rights Commission which encourages young people to support their friends targeted by cyberbullying.

BackMeUp asks young people aged 13-17 to make a video to show how they could support someone who was being cyber bullied.  Read more...

Baby scales provide one of the best ways to identify malnourished babies early. These scales suspend the baby comfortably in a pair of tiny weighing pants and give an accurate picture of their health and nutritional needs.
Read more...

In 2011 UNICEF distributed 2.5 billion vaccines to 103 countries around the globe, vaccinating 36 per cent of the world’s children.  Read more...

UNICEF and its partners are assisting Syrian refugee children in Jordan to enroll in nearby schools and are providing ongoing support to the families of these children.

Working with the Ministry of Education UNICEF has provided more than 7,300 Syrian children with free access to education at public schools in Jordan.

Read more...

In developing countries each year, 4 million babies die within their first 28 days of life. Read more...

Tune in to our live twitter conversation direct from Somalia almost one year since a famine was declared. Read more...

Drowning has become a leading killer of children after infancy across parts of Asia, responsible for more deaths than measles, polio, whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria and tuberculosis combined. Read more...

Ewan McGregor has launched a video campaign for UNICEF calling on Australians to support the children at great risk of malnutrition across the Sahel. Read more...

Carrie Bickmore has been announced as a UNICEF Ambassador, adding to her roles as television presenter of Channel 10’s The Project and mother to son Oliver. Read more...

Read all about it! The new edition of the UNICEF Globe is here.
Read more...

He’s reaching 2.5 million Australians every night and now Joel Madden is calling on those Australians to give their mum measles this Mother’s Day. Read more...

UNICEF’s innovative Digital Drum has been chosen as one of Time Magazine’s 50 Best Inventions of 2011. Read more...

UNICEF Australia has joined forces with ActionAid, Oaktree Foundation and others to step up the campaign to ensure the Government keeps its promise on the aid budget. Read more...

UTS law student, Janani has been annouced as Youth Reporter. Read more...

Well-known Australian painter Ken Done has a new picture in mind
Read more...

The massive humanitarian response in East Africa in 2011 reversed the spread of famine and saved tens of thousands of children’s lives. Read more...

UNICEF and the Australian public have taken a leading role in supporting the rebuilding of Zimbabwe, a once prosperous country and former “bread basket” of Africa, that has experienced severe economic and political strains in its recent history.
Read more...

UNICEF has joined forces with Kiwanis International to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus.
Read more...

As UNICEF Australia shines the spotlight on maternal health this month, we chat to Tara Moss, UNICEF Ambassador and Patron for Breastfeeding of the Baby-Friendly Health Initiative. Read more...

India has officially been taken off the list of polio endemic countries by the WHO following one year since its last case of polio. The announcement was celebrated across India as arguably its greatest public health achievement. Read more...

A food crisis is looming in the Sahel. More than a million children could face life-threatening malnutrition if we don't take immediate action. Read more...

This Thursday March 22 marks World Water Day, a day to raise awareness of one of our most precious natural resources – water.
Read more...

Sunday March 11 marks one year since a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Japan, followed by a devastating tsunami that caused widespread destruction. Read more...

Find out who is Joseph Kony and how you can help child soldiers.
Read more...

Children around the world are uniting in numbers as part of the World Education Games.
Read more...

Cities are failing hundreds of millions of children, leaving them virtually invisible and excluded from vital services. Read more...

The new partnership between UNICEF Australia and Sydney FC kicked off this weekend as players proudly displayed the UNICEF logos on their shirts during their match against Wellington Phoenix. Read more...

IKEA has helped provide an education to over 5.5 million children in Africa thanks to the 2011 IKEA Soft Toy campaign. Read more...

Rugby legend and former Wallabies Captain John Eales joined children and their families from Balmain & District Football Club on Saturday to celebrate a new community partnership with UNICEF. Read more...

UNICEF Australia Goodwill Ambassador and acclaimed actor, Geoffrey Rush has been named 2012 Australian of the Year. Mr Rush has been a UNICEF Ambassador for 15 years and is a strong advocate for children’s rights. Read more...

Natalie Adler, 13, raised a staggering $3,000 at her Bat Mitzvah for UNICEF’s Malaria Appeal. Aware lots of people get “overloaded” with gifts at Bat Mitzvahs, Natalie said, “When you have quite a lot of people you don’t need that many presents. We have enough.”

 

Read more...

UNICEF is proud to partner with the World Education Games between 6 and 8 March 2012.
Read more...

Today marks a milestone in India’s history: it is the first time a whole year has passed without a case of polio. Read more...

Two years on, the scars of disaster are still visible on the infrastructure, institutions and social systems of Haïti. They are also apparent on the bodies and in the minds of children, parents and caregivers.
Read more...

From mossie nets to water pumps, here's how your Christmas Inspired Gifts will help kids in 2012. Read more...

Tens of thousands of lives have been saved in East Africa thanks to your generosity.
Read more...

Do you have spare foreign coins lying around? Drop them off at any Commonwealth Bank and support UNICEF’s work for children in developing countries. Read more...

Ever wondered what you’d look like with a moustache? Read more...

Taking time off from a farewell tour, David Beckham made a surprise visit today to a UNICEF-supported children's shelter in Manila. Read more...

Victoria Clancy has traded in the comforts of her Australian life for a nine-month stint working as a volunteer Sports for Development Officer at UNICEF Bangladesh. Read more...

Stop! This Christmas don’t reach for the socks, soaps or satin boxers, instead give a gift that will make a real difference to children worldwide.
Read more...

There’s only one thing Socceroos hero and UNICEF Ambassador Tim Cahill wants for his birthday on December 6 – for you to buy him a football. Read more...

Buy a soft toy at IKEA and help children around the world receive an education.
Read more...

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Catherine) join the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark (Frederik and Mary) to visit UNICEF's Emergency Supply Centre in Copenhagen to support East Africa. Read more...

Australian restaurants have raised over $70,000 in the Bread for Good campaign for East Africa, with the total expected to keep rising. Read more...

The Australian Government is failing to protect the rights of its most vulnerable children, a delegation of representatives has told the United Nations. Read more...

It is our pleasure to present to you the first edition of the UNICEF Globe.


Read more...

The world is on the brink of an enormous humanitarian achievement.
Read more...

Help UNICEF improve the lives of millions of children around the globe this Christmas with the gift of music. When you purchase ‘Children First’ you will help support UNICEF’s work with children around the world. Read more...

Young Australians will shine the spotlight on children’s wellbeing in Australia before the United Nations this week. Read more...

UNICEF is calling on children around Australia to write letters of support to children in East Africa, who are currently struggling through the worst drought in 60 years. Read more...

960 sets of card packs, 300 submissions, 39 participating units and 4 winners later the UNICEF Australia & Girl Guides NSW & ACT card design competition finished as parcels of cards were shipped out across NSW & the ACT on Friday. Read more...

On Universal Children’s Day, Australian students will take action to help Timor-Leste children by raising money for water and sanitation projects in schools.
Read more...

Children who lag behind in their first five years may never catch up to children who had a better start in life. Read more...

Dine out and help make a difference in East Africa from Friday, September 16 to Monday, October 31.
Read more...

UNICEF is sending vital emergency supplies, including hundreds of thousands of litres of clean water, to children and families left vulnerable by severe monsoon floods in southern Pakistan. Read more...

Over 1300 Girl Guides attended the annual Sleepout at Taronga Zoo and spent time learning about the MDGs.
Read more...

Thank you for your commitment to the crisis that is affecting East Africa. When you learnt of the famine-ravaged areas of East Africa, you listened and you acted. Read more...

24 year old  Amy Dobbin left Sydney to work with UNICEF in Ghana.
Read more...

In emergencies it is always the children – the most vulnerable -- who suffer first and suffer most. Read more...

My son is getting better day by day and I know that he will survive this. Read more...

Girl Guides across Australia can take part in an exciting card design competition.
Read more...

Australian icon and actress Jacki Weaver has launched a video campaign for UNICEF, calling on all Australians to support children affected by drought and famine in East Africa. Read more...

UNICEF Australia has developed an East Africa Education Kit to help teachers talk with students about the East Africa crisis.
Read more...

This is a children’s famine.  The magnitude of suffering and loss is tremendous.  The haunting images we have seen from the Horn of Africa and the facts of this emergency speak for themselves. Read more...

Globally today, roughly 1 in 10 children under the age of 18 is living with a disability. Read more...

Right now over 550,000 children in Somalia are malnourished because they don’t have enough food to eat, and if they get any, it’s not nutritionally balanced. Read more...

One year on from the devastating Pakistan floods, UNICEF Australia will be providing ‘live coverage’ on Twitter from Monday 11 July till Thursday 14 July of the progress made and the challenges that remain.  Read more...

“Tomorrow is a historic day for the children and people of South Sudan.  After years of conflict, a new country is emerging, with new hope for a more peaceful and prosperous future for all its citizens" Read more...

UNICEF Australia welcomes findings of the aid review.
Read more...

A letter to the Defence Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister and Attorney General on cluser munitions.
Read more...

A new report, Listen to Children, shows Australia is failing its children.
Read more...

UNICEF has increased humanitarian assistance to countries in East Africa as a food and refugee crisis continues, made worse by a deadly combination of drought and ongoing conflict.

Over nine million people, almost two million of whom are under the age of five, will be at risk unless a rapid and speedy response is put into action by local governments. Read more...

UNICEF Australia is in the process of producing receipts for over 65,000 individuals and organisations who’ve supported our work over the 2010/2011 financial year.  Read more...

It’s hard to wipe your bum if you have no hands. It’s hard to win at marbles when you only have one eye. And it’s pretty hard to work as a farmer when you have no legs.

Seems pretty wacky, but this is the reality of living in a country beset with bombs dropped by our coalition partners over thirty years ago. Read more...

The ABC recently reported  the impact of a severe food shortage in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  UNICEF estimates that 6.1 million people are in urgent need of food, including 1 million children under five years old. 
Read more...

UNICEF and GAVI applauds donor pledges to children’s health Read more...

In May UNICEF Australia Ambassador, Erica Packer returned from a field trip to Laos where she saw first-hand UNICEF’s work improving education.

Read more...

UNICEF estimates that 150 million children aged 5-14 are involved in child labour.
Read more...

Video: UNICEF raises concerns about the plight of unaccompanied minors who arrive in Australia seeking asylum being deported to Malaysia.
Read more...

Socceroo superhero Tim Cahill yesterday launched his role as UNICEF Day for Change Ambassador at a soccer lesson which brought together aspiring soccer stars from a handful of Sydney schools.
Read more...

UNICEF Australia Ambassador, Erica Packer recently returned from a field trip to Laos where she saw first-hand UNICEF’s work helping children. Read more...

People 15 to 24 year olds account for 41 per cent of all new HIV infections.

Young women and adolescent girls face a disproportionately high risk of infection due to biological vulnerability, social inequality and exclusion.  Read more...

Sydney-based company Human Group is committed to a world fit for all children. Read more...

Read about how IKEA is helping children in India.  Read more...

Send your pictures and message of support to children in Japan.
Read more...

In a delightful act of generosity, Princess Beatrice has today put her eye-catching royal wedding head-wear up for auction, to raise much needed funds for UNICEF and Children in Crisis.

If Princess Beatrice’s unique hat is just your cup of English Breakfast tea, you can put in your bid today on ebay and help raise  much needed funds for  two charities – both committed to reaching the vulnerable children and their families in some of the poorest and hardest to reach parts of the world. Read more...

UNICEF Australia's Annual Report 2010 is now available online. Read more...

Jimmy Barnes speaks about giving the life-saving gift of vaccination.
Read more...

When crisis strikes – in Australia and abroad – the vein of compassion that runs deep in the Australian psyche bursts forth in an outpouring of generosity. Here at UNICEF we have been humbled by it time and time again.
Read more...

UNICEF's groundbreaking work in Sierra Leone

Read more...

UNICEF Viet Nam's Child Protection Department speaks to staff on the development situation in Viet Nam. Read more...

UNICEF Australia staff speaks over skype with girls from a UNICEF supported women’s shelter in Afghanistan. Read more...

UNICEF is extremely concerned about recent reports that phone scammers are using our name in order to extract money from people.  Read more...

The Libyan crisis continues to escalate as reports of fierce fighting and civilian casualties emerge daily. UNICEF teams are on standby to enter the country as soon as the security situation allows.
Read more...

The end of the financial year is rapidly approaching and businesses are leaving their annual tax planning to the last minute. Donating to UNICEF can lower a businesses tax bill* – and bring hope to disadvantaged children and their communities throughout the world. Read more...

Thank you to Metro Screen and in particular their students for getting behind UNICEF and kindly producing a series of short online films. Read more...

More than 90,000 people have already fled Libya towards Tunisia, 80,000 to Egypt and 2500 to Niger. Read more...

A new UNICEF reports looks at the challenges adolescents face in health, education, protection and participation; and explores the risks and vulnerabilities of this pivotal stage.
Read more...

UNICEF is proud to partner with World Maths Day on 1 March 2011. As part of the World Education Games, which also includes World Spelling Day,  students have the opportunity to help raise money for every question they get right. All funds raised will help support UNICEF’s education programs in Mozambique and Viet Nam.

Read more...

UNICEF Australia has a new range of free educational resources available to help students learn more about global issues. Read more...

Cuts to aid  would threaten to send millions of people back into extreme poverty says UNICEF Australia.
Read more...

Recent statements regarding UNICEF made through a misinformation email (or online campaign) are false.
Read more...

Up to 23 per cent of children in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh are suffering from malnutrition, according to a recent nutrition survey. Read more...

The Lowy Institute has launched a new blog to promote and stimulate discussion of the upcoming aid review.
Read more...

We'll be back soon, sign-up for up dates. Read more...

Are you 18 or under, a parent of a child or just want to have your say on child rights in Australia? If yes, then we want to hear from you! Read more...

The latest update from Pakistan as  millions of people displaced by devastating floods prepare for winter without a home.
Read more...

A look back at the past year, from Pakistan to Haiti, from China to Chile and many other silent emergencies. Read more...

More than four months after the worst floods in the country’s history, the situation is still dire for Pakistani children as winter approaches.
Read more...

New UNICEF research on child well being in rich countries shows the growing gap between Australia and other rich nations  in looking after our most vulnerable children.
Read more...

Today marks the end of a 12-month initiative by iconic brand Montblanc to benefit vulnerable children around the world.
Read more...

Among the delicious aromas of a huge Pakistani buffet, Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd stepped up to the podium on 28 November in Mt Druitt, to speak about Australia’s long term friendship with Pakistan through good times and bad, and to raise funds for the UNICEF Pakistan Flood Appeal. Read more...

Dancers, singers, rappers and actors took to the stage at Epping Boys High on Friday 26 November for the annual Ryde Eisteddfod, to raise funds for UNICEF education projects in Mozambique. Read more...

The comedic duo took aim at the canonisation of Mary McKillop, Australia’s underwhelming $45-million bid for the Football World Cup and corruption in cricket. Read more...

On Wednesday 24th November over 500 people packed out the Sydney Oxford Art Factory as part of Billabong’s Design for Humanity event. Read more...

57,000 school students have united for children as part of this year’s Day for Change. Read more...

Australian businessmen and women swapped their suits for soccer shorts to raise money for vulnerable children around the world. Read more...

'IKEA Family' loyalty program reaches 400,000 members - benefitting children around the world. Read more...

Over 1,500 Girl Guides from South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT contributed to this fantastic day. Read more...

Thanks to the generous support of donors, to date the Pakistan Flood Appeal has raised $5.5 million. Read more...

Nine months on, and over 3 million people are still affected by the Haiti earthquake.

Read more...

The 2010 UNICEF Year in Review with Roy and HG was a huge success with over 550 people attending the event. Register your interest now for 2011’s event. Read more...