UNICEF Humanitarian Action for Children 2020: Overview

During times of conflict and disaster, children suffer the most. Today, the number of countries experiencing conflict is at the highest point since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, and approximately 30 million children are displaced by violence. Many of these children are being enslaved, trafficked, abused and exploited, while many more live in uncertainty without official immigration status or access to education and health care. Diseases such as Ebola are also re-emerging, and extreme weather events are creating disasters frequently. More than half a billion children now live in areas with extremely high flood occurrence, and almost 160 million children live in areas impacted by drought. 

This edition of UNICEF’s annual humanitarian funding appeal presents information about current conflicts and disasters affecting millions of children and adolescents around the world. It also highlights achievements made by UNICEF and partners in response to these emergencies.