UNICEF Press 

Global icon marks 10 years as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador with new drive to put children first

670,000 additional children without access to education due to security concerns

UNICEF works to establish child friendly spaces as 90% of schools in Kathmandu remain unable for use Photos and videos are available here: http://uni.cf/1HH6SbO KATHMANDU, 7 May 2015 ? At least 950,000 children in Nepal will not be able to return to school, unless urgent action is taken to provide temporary learning spaces and repair damaged school buildings following the 25 April earthquake ? according to UNICEF. Almost 24,000 classrooms were damaged or destroyed in the 7.8 magnitude quake that hit the country 12 days ago, with many suffering further damage in subsequent aftershocks.

Vulnerable children in Myanmar face a ?double catastrophe? as floods add to the hardship faced by children living in poverty and those recovering from violence and conflict, UNICEF has warned. Myanmar has suffered heavy rain for weeks, with winds and rains from Cyclone Komen that made landfall in Bangladesh on 30 July, adding to the damage in recent days.

BANGUI, Central African Republic, 5 May 2015 – Leaders of armed groups in the Central African Republic agreed today to release all children associated with their forces and to immediately end any new child recruitment. An estimated 6,000 to 10,000 children are currently associated with the country?s armed factions according to UNICEF. The figure includes those serving as combatants and used for sexual purposes, as well as those working as cooks, messengers and in other roles.

KATHMANDU, 2 May 2015 ? One week on from the earthquake in Nepal, UNICEF says the health and wellbeing of children affected by the disaster are hanging in the balance ? as many have been left homeless, in deep shock and with no access to basic care. With the monsoon season only a few weeks away, children will be at heightened risk of diseases like cholera and diarrhoeal infections, as well as being more vulnerable to the threat of landslides and floods.

Around 500,000 people, up to half of them children, have been forced to flee their homes since violence erupted on 5 June in the Iraqi city of Mosul and the violence is spreading.

Iraq has launched a polio immunization campaign aiming to protect over four million children under the age of 5 throughout the country against the crippling disease.

Number of children suffering more than doubles in third year of Syria conflict Among hardest hit are 1 million children under siege and in Hard-to-reach areas

Together with Ministries of Health and other partners across seven countries in West Africa, UNICEF is using text messages, radio shows, TV programmes and door-to-door campaigns to disseminate life-saving information in an effort to contain the often-fatal Ebola virus that has already claimed over one hundred lives in Guinea and Liberia.

UNICEF’s #WAKEUPCALL for Syria, morning selfie campaign has taken off with Irish celebs such as Liam Neeson, Donncha O’Callaghan, Joe Canning, Dermot Earley, Anna Daly, Sean O’Brien and our very own Dustin the Turkey!

An emergency vaccination campaign by UNICEF to reach over 210,000 children displaced by violence in the Central African Republic has begun at major displacement sites in the capital Bangui