The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has projected that no fewer than 213 million children across the globe will require lifesaving aid in 2025.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that this development reveals the alarming surge in humanitarian emergencies affecting the world’s youngest and most vulnerable population.
The agency revealed that it would need $9.9 billion in funding to reach 109 million children across 146 countries with critical assistance.
The fund will be channeled towards addressing multiple crises, including conflicts, climate shocks, displacement, and health emergencies anticipated in the coming year.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell described the scale of children’s humanitarian needs as unprecedented, noting that the number of children impacted by emergencies continues to rise daily.
“The scale of children’s humanitarian needs is at a historically high level, with more children impacted every day,” Russell said.
“Looking ahead to 2025, we estimate that 213 million children in 146 countries and territories will need humanitarian assistance over the course of the year – a staggeringly high number.
“It is UNICEF’s mandate to reach each of these children with the essential services and supplies they need and to ensure that their rights are protected and upheld – a mandate that has guided our work for the past 78 years.”
Russell provided a sobering breakdown of the crisis, revealing that in 2024, over 57.5 million children were born into countries grappling with conflict or other humanitarian emergencies where UNICEF operates emergency appeals.
She said this figure is projected to rise by at least 400,000 in 2025.
She added that UNICEF’s $9.9 billion funding appeal for 2025 highlights the critical need to address a growing array of challenges facing children globally.
According to her, the funds will be directed toward various life-saving interventions, including: pimary healthcare access for 56.9 million children and women, screening 34 million children aged 6-59 months for wasting, and providing mental health and psychosocial support to 20.6 million children, adolescents, and caregivers.
Others are : protecting 11.1 million women, girls, and boys through gender-based violence interventions, facilitating access to education for 24 million children, ensuring sufficient and safe water supply for 55.3 million people and funding Gaps and Underfunded Emergencies
UNICEF lamented the uneven distribution of funding, noting that in the past year, over 50% of thematic humanitarian funding was allocated to just four emergencies – Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Syria, and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, countries such as Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, and Myanmar remain severely underfunded despite facing significant crises.
“Support through flexible humanitarian funding is critical for our work for children affected by crises,” Russell emphasized.
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