The 7 emergencies that need more attention

Every day, childhoods are being shattered by ongoing conflict, disease outbreaks and natural disasters. From children who have endured over a decade of war in Yemen and Syria, to those whose entire communities are under threat from climate change in the Pacific, millions of young lives are bearing the weight of these crises.  

Hundreds of emergencies are unfolding around the world, and devastatingly, most remain unreported by the media. This lack of coverage leaves them underfunded, as research shows a strong link between media attention and emergency response funding.  

Here are seven urgent crises that demand more attention. 

Childhoods lost in Yemen

For over a decade, Yemen’s children have endured ongoing violence, loss, hunger, and displacement. Tragically, since the conflict escalated in 2015, more than 11,500 children have been killed or injured, while 9.8 million children are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.  

With most of Yemen’s population living in extreme poverty, basic services like hospitals, schools and sanitation have collapsed. Millions of children and their families lack access to adequate food, clean water, healthcare and education. Half of all children under five are acutely malnourished, with over 500,000 suffering from the most life-threatening form of malnutrition.  

Around 4.5 million children –  or 1 in 4 – are out of school, with thousands of schools damaged or destroyed, and children facing rising rates of child labour, child marriage, gender-based violence and recruitment by armed groups. Those who do attend school face overcrowded classrooms and overburdened and unequipped teachers. 

UNICEF works alongside local partners to provide lifesaving nutrition, healthcare, and safe water. To rebuild damaged schools and establish safe learning spaces while providing education on mines and explosive remnants of war. 

Learn more about what is happening in Yemen.

Children being pushed to the brink in Haiti 

For far too long, millions of children in Haiti have been caught in relentless cycles of violence.  

Over the past few decades, Haiti’s children have faced immense challenges, including natural disasters, disease outbreaks, political instability, gang violence, poverty and mass displacement. Following a wave of extreme violence and unrest in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince last year, the situation has significantly deteriorated in 2025. Escalating gang violence and the near collapse of critical infrastructure and social services have put even more children’s lives at risk. Since December 2024, the number of internally displaced children in Haiti has surged by 24 per cent to over 680,000. The threat of famine is also looming, with more than 1 in 4 children facing persistent and severe food insecurity. 

After years of political turmoil and economic crisis, a staggering 90 per cent of Haiti’s population now lives in poverty. Over 3 million children urgently need humanitarian assistance. Without means of survival and protection, some children are being forced to join armed groups. In 2024, the recruitment of children by armed groups in Haiti surged by 70 per cent. 

Despite the challenging context, UNICEF remains on the ground, providing lifesaving support to children and their families. 

Read more about what is happening in Haiti and how UNICEF is helping.

Crisis on top of crisis for Lebanon’s children 

Children in Lebanon continue to be affected by ongoing airstrikes as they struggle to recover from a devastating war. 

Even before the escalation in cross-border conflict in September 2024, many families in Lebanon were struggling to feed their children amid an unrelenting economic crisis and political instability. As efforts continue to restore essential services in Lebanon, high unemployment is forcing many children to leave school early to help support their families. This dire situation has given rise to an education crisis, with nearly 1 in 3 children not attending school, while the health system teeters on the brink of collapse due to years of being overstretched.  

Adding to the complexity, conflicts in neighbouring countries have driven an influx of Syrian and Palestinian refugees seeking safety within Lebanon’s borders, putting even more pressure on the country’s already fragile services.  

Alongside our partners, UNICEF is providing safe drinking water, lifesaving nutrition and healthcare, and access to education, all while keeping children safe from harm. We will continue to support children and families in the recovery effort and respond to ongoing ceasefire violations as the situation evolves.  

Learn more about what is happening in Lebanon. 

Growing up in the shadow of war in Syria 

An entire generation of children in Syria have known nothing but war. Since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, most of the basic systems and services children and families depend on – health, nutrition, education, social protection and water and sanitation – have all but been destroyed. Since the collapse of the Syrian Government in late 2024, the humanitarian situation in Syria has deteriorated further, driven by renewed hostilities, severe drought-like conditions, and a fragile economic environment.  

More than half the population is struggling to put food on the table, with women and girls the ones who are most likely to forego a meal. Child marriage, gender-based violence and child exploitation and abuse are on the rise, and access to healthcare, and clean water remains severely limited due to economic and security constraints. Children are being forced to forego their education to help support their families financially. Nearly 2.5 million Syrian children remain out of school, while a further 1 million are at risk of dropping out.  

Despite the severity of the situation, UNICEF continues to work alongside our partners to deliver lifesaving healthcare and nutrition, and clean water to children in Syria. We’re helping them access education and safe spaces, and we’re working to keep children safe from harm.  

Discover more about our work in Syria.  

An entire generation of Myanmar’s children in desperate need 

Teetering on the edge, Myanmar’s children bear the weight of ongoing conflict, mass displacement, natural disasters and the disruption of critical services, including health and education. This dire situation was compounded by the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck the country in March 2025, leaving 6.9 million children in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. 

Since the military takeover in 2021, violence has surged across the country, exposing more children in Myanmar than ever to grave risks: forced recruitments, child marriages, abuse, displacement and a lack of access to vital services. The rise in landmine incidents and road closures has further exacerbated the situation, leading to shortages of food and fuel for children and their families in hard-to-reach places.  

UNICEF has been in Myanmar for over 70 years, continuously adapting our efforts to meet the growing needs of children in crisis. From providing essential child protection services and lifesaving healthcare to ensuring access to safe water and education, we will continue to reach vulnerable children in need, no matter what. 

Find out how UNICEF is supporting children and families in Myanmar.  

Young lives under threat in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 

Since 2022, renewed violence, escalating conflict, climate-related disasters and disease outbreaks have upended the lives of millions of children in DRC, leaving families in turmoil. Children are being killed, maimed, abducted and recruited into armed violence, with a surge in gender-based violence adding to their suffering.  

Adding to these threats, children and their families are grappling with climate-related disasters and disease outbreaks, including cholera, measles and mpox. Weak health systems, limited access to safe drinking water, shortages of medicines and poor sanitation have also led to the country’s first Ebola outbreak since 2009, in the Kasai province. These overlapping crises have triggered a mass displacement emergency with spiralling humanitarian needs.  

For over 60 years, UNICEF has been in the DRC, delivering lifesaving services and supplies to children in desperate need, including clean water, health and nutrition, child protection, and education. 

Learn more about our work in the DRC. 

Climate threatening childhoods in the Pacific 

The Pacific Islands – including Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands – face multiple challenges which are being exacerbated by climate change and rising sea levels. Limited access to healthcare and social services, quality education, clean water and sanitation are having dire impacts on the lives of children and families, with those living in hard-to-reach villages among the most vulnerable. Rates of violence against children in the Pacific are also among the highest in the world. Of the 1,700 children under five who die in the Pacific region every year, a staggering 80 per cent of them do not live to see their first birthday.  

Pacific Islanders are already facing the impacts of climate change with frequent and longer droughts, increased severity of tropical cyclones and typhoons, flooding, coastal erosion, as rising seas seep into farmland and water sources. Children are facing the emotional trauma of being displaced from their homes, and families are losing their entire livelihoods and way of life.  

UNICEF has been advocating for the rights of children across the Pacific Islands for more than 50 years, working alongside our partners to deliver lifesaving support to children and families when emergencies strike, as well as long-term development programs, focusing on investing in the early years, keeping mums and babies healthy, protecting children from harm, and providing access to clean water and quality education.  

Discover more about our work in the Pacific 

When the media headlines move on, UNICEF stays. 

Through every emergency, no matter where or what, we stay and deliver for children. Thanks to the generosity and support of people like you, UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other organisation in the world. But our work is far from over.  

Today, there are more children in need of humanitarian assistance than at any other time since the Second World War. Children and their families around the world are confronted with a deadly combination of crises, including conflicts, displacement, disasters, and disease outbreaks.  

From the Pacific to the Middle East, Myanmar and Haiti: these crises can’t be forgotten. Through the world’s worst conflicts and natural disasters, UNICEF is there. For every child, no matter what.