UNICEF Blog | Learn About Our Stories from the Field

 Stories 

Stories

How parents can help children cope during the COVID-19 emergency

The COVID-19 emergency pandemic has rapidly developed into an unprecedented global health emergency. Everything has changed so fast and it has taken almost all of us by surprise.  Children and parents’ lives are being turned upside down and many of us are experiencing an emergency for the first time in our lives.   Emergencies are often caused by natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and … Continued

Life on the Front Lines: Interview with an Italian Nurse

Isabella Bizzotto is a 28-year old Italian nurse specialising in anesthesia and intensive care. She’s been working at the University Hospital in Padua (which is in Veneto, one of the hardest hit regions in Italy) since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. We spoke to her about life on the front lines, the daily challenges … Continued

COVID-19 Threatens Lives of Refugee and Migrant Children

COVID-19, or coronavirus, has put Europe’s health systems and economies into a downward spiral.  Millions of people around the world are working from home, schools are shut, and social distancing is the new normal.  But what about children and families living in densely-populated refugee camps or countries with no functioning health service or poor sanitation? … Continued

Everything You Need to Know About Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Everyone is talking about coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and everywhere you look there’s information on the virus and how to protect yourself from it. Knowing the facts is key to being properly prepared and protecting yourself and your loved ones. Sadly, there’s a lot of information out there that is incorrect. Misinformation during a health crisis … Continued

UNICEF Ireland Chief anticipates humanitarian disaster as Covid-19 spreads

UNICEF Ireland Executive Director Peter Power has written an open letter to the people of Ireland as Covid-19 continues to spread around the world, endangering those who are most vulnerable amongst us. During this critical period, Covid–19 reminds us all about the essential make-up of the Irish DNA. Our generosity of spirit is at the … Continued

How COVID-19 Changed Italy Before My Eyes

Sarah Crowe Senior Advisor in UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti, Florence, Italy   First, there was racial distancing – locals taking a wide berth around Chinese tourists – then there the jokes – Italians having a good time when the world thought they were in the midst of a plague. Locals scoffed when one after the … Continued

The 5 Year-Old Whose Parents Were Hospitalised with COVID-19

Vectors not victims, so we are told. But what happens to children caught up in the Covid-19 crisis? Where do they go when their loved ones get sick? Who looks after those who most need looking after? One little girl in China found herself in exactly this position… relying on the kindness of strangers. Thankfully, … Continued

How to talk to your child about coronavirus (COVID-19) 

How to talk to your child about coronavirus (COVID-19)  5 tips to help comfort and protect children.  Unprecedented. Uncharted territory. The biggest health challenge of the century. There has been so much said about the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and it can be easy to feel overwhelmed.   The same is true for children, who may struggle to understand, or put in … Continued

Syria’s Children: The War in Their Own Words

The Syrian war is entering its ninth year. Today, there are Syrian children such as Kinda, who you’ll read more about below, who have never known peace. Who have never known the feeling of safety. Never had a bed to call their own. Having lived through violence, bombs, machine-gun fire, hunger and freezing temperatures, Syria’s … Continued

A Timeline of the Syrian Civil War and Refugee Crisis

The Syrian crisis is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. The horrors and atrocities of this conflict have filled our newspapers, TV screens and minds since fighting broke out in 2011. After 9 years of conflict, let’s take a look back and see how Syria’s civil war and resulting refugee crisis developed. … Continued

It still hurts

  By Helene Sandbu Ryeng Life is immediately sucked out of her beautiful almond shaped brown eyes. For a few seconds, she is physically still here but her mind somewhere else. An hour earlier; sixteen-year-old Anna [NAME CHANGED] is sitting behind a sowing machine at Tindoka vocational centre in Yambio, using her feet pushing down … Continued

Review Highlights From 2019

Introduction – UNICEF “Conflicts around the world are lasting longer, causing more bloodshed and claiming more young lives” – UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore Conflict remains the main driver of humanitarian needs, while extreme weather events, hunger, and infectious diseases drove many people to seek and depend on emergency aid. Millions of children uprooted from … Continued

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