Mark Choonoo, UNICEF Emergency Specialist, was in Homs recently and shares his first-hand account on the situation there and the impact the destruction wrought by the conflict has on children and families. Homs has been the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in Syria’s 22-month conflict, with hundreds of thousands of residents displaced. While … Continued

AMMAN, Jordan, 7 January 2013 – Jane MacPhail shows me a mountain of drawings done by Syrian refugee children at the camp. We go through them together, and I notice that they are mostly happy images with no guns, tanks or blood. Report by Ara Yoo They are drawings of homes, family members, flowers, butterflies, … Continued

In Dalhamieh, a small village in the Bekaa Valley, Syrian refugees are streaming into an informal camp, where their makeshift tents multiply daily. As of 19 December, this informal camp had sheltered about 698 refugees, of whom 86 were children under 2 years old. Report by Soha Bsat Boustani and Souleyma Mardam Bey. BEKAA VALLEY, … Continued

          Will you help UNICEF reach children where Santa won’t get to this year? We want all children to have the benefit of life saving and life changing gifts, that is why we have launched a campaign to help save Christmas, where you and your friends can play a leading role, … Continued

Every day around 1,000 children are newly infected with HIV, mainly during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. Without help most will die by their second birthday. On World AIDS Day: More pregnant women and children must get treatment, says UNICEF. This short animation outlines how we can achieve an AIDS-free generation – by preventing new infections … Continued

MAFRAQ, Jordan, 7 November 2012 – When Syrian refugee children show UNICEF child protection worker Jane MacPhail pictures they have drawn of revenge and violence, she knows what to say. Report by Wendy Bruere “I look at the picture, and then I ask them: ‘What would you draw if you lived in a world without … Continued

AMMAN, Jordan, 7 November 2012 – As the canvas roof of her family’s tent flaps in the wind, Fatma* holds her son close, gently brushing dust from his face. UNICEF correspondent Guy Degen reports on how Syrian refugee families are faring in Za’atari refugee camp in northern Jordan. The baby is just 8 weeks old … Continued

BEKAA VALLEY, Lebanon, 23 October 2012 – The large chalkboard is a reminder that the crowded shelter housing Zaineb, her family and more than a hundred other Syrian refugees is actually a school. Report by Melanie Sharpe. VIDEO: UNICEF reports on an international effort to provide clean drinking water to Syrian refugees in Lebanon. “It … Continued

BEIRUT, Lebanon, 16 October 2012 – Ten-year-old Ahmed* and his family have come to Lebanon from a Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian Arab Republic. They fled their camp near Damascus when fighting intensified. One day, Ahmed’s 12-year-old sister Mona had stumbled across a bloody corpse close to their home. Report by Melanie Sharpe UNICEF … Continued

MAFRAQ, Jordan, 8 October 2012 – “I’m very happy that school has started,” says Tabark, 12, who is in her fifth day of class at Za’atari refugee camp’s new emergency school. “I enjoy Arabic and writing the most. I would like to be an Arabic teacher.” Report by David Youngmeyer UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake … Continued

TRIPOLI, Lebanon, 25 September 2012 – “When my school was destroyed, my dream of becoming a doctor was destroyed,” says Asu*, 11. He is sitting in the courtyard of the Wadi Annakhle public school, outside Tripoli, which is housing Syrian refugees. He looks down. “There was a lot of shooting and bombs where we lived … Continued

AMMAN, Jordan, 11 September 2012 – Maradi pushes her 2 1/2-year-old son Safwan on a swing while holding her 4-month-old daughter Sofian. Safwan’s twin brother Omran is back in their tent with Maradi’s husband. Report by Melanie Sharpe In a playground full of noisy children, Safwan swings back and forth in silence, squinting against the … Continued