International Unicef: Record number of children living in conflict areas
More children than ever before are living in conflict zones or have been forcibly displaced from their homes, according to the UN Children's Fund Unicef. The organization reports this, citing the latest available data and global trends.
28.12.2024, 06:28
SDA
According to this, a good 473 million children live in conflict zones - more than one in six children worldwide. According to the Global Peace Index, the number of conflicts is the highest since the Second World War.
The proportion of children worldwide living in conflict zones has doubled - from around ten percent in the 1990s to almost 19 percent today, as Unicef reports. They are killed and injured, have to drop out of school, lack vital vaccinations or suffer from severe malnutrition. And the trend is worrying: the number of children affected by conflict is expected to rise even further, it said.
One of the worst years for children in conflict situations
"By almost every measure, 2024 was one of the worst years for children in conflict in Unicef's 78-year history - both in terms of the number of children affected and the impact on their lives," said Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell. The likelihood of not being able to go to school, suffering from malnutrition and being displaced from their homes is much higher for children in conflict zones than for those growing up in a peaceful place. "This must not become the new normal."
According to Unicef, 47.2 million children were displaced due to conflict and violence in the annual census up to the end of 2023. The trends for 2024 point to a further increase in displacement as various conflicts continue to intensify, including in Haiti, Lebanon, Myanmar, Palestine and Sudan.
Even though not all the figures for 2024 are available yet, Unicef is expecting a bleak outcome in light of current developments. Thousands of children have been killed and injured in the Gaza Strip alone, and the UN has counted more confirmed child victims in Ukraine in the first nine months of 2024 than in the whole of 2023.
