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reports on children’s chances of survival in 2021 - an estimated 5 million children died before their fifth birthday and another 2.1 million children and youth aged 5–24 years lost their lives.

“Now as a father with two girls, I just can't imagine the anguish that my mother went through … I wonder how many sleepless nights she had.”

Alfred Orono’s childhood came to an abrupt end when he was recruited as a soldier in Uganda, when he was just 11 years old. Now Chief of Child Protection at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), he draws on his own experience as a child soldier to help young people find a peaceful way forward.

“I work with children who, when I look at them, I know exactly what's going on in their minds. I know how they feel. And I'm part of the solution to their problems.”

Every year, thousands of children are recruited by warring parties around the world. Yet their troubles rarely end after the conflict is over. Having suffered violence, abuse, and exploitation, many struggle to rebuild their lives. In this episode of Awake at Night, Alfred Orono reflects on his own experience, the hope it gives to former child soldiers, and on living life without regrets.

New UNICEF shows the extent to which racism and discrimination impact children’s education, health, and access to a fair and equal justice system.

From climate change, education and mental health, to ending racism and discrimination, children and young people are raising their voices on the issues that matter to their generation and calling for adults to create a better future. This World Children’s Day (20 November), kids are standing up for a more equal, inclusive world. What will you do? on World Children’s Day!

After millennia of living with poliovirus and the suffering the paralysis it causes, today nearly everyone lives in a polio-free country. However, cases of polio have been recently reemerging worldwide, including in Malawi. There are several factors behind those outbreaks, including conflict and displacement, disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and vaccine hesitancy. With support from , a nationwide immunization campaign was launched in Malawi in March 2022 and its impact has been profound.  Since the vaccination drive began, about 9 million children in Malawi have received a polio vaccination. Find out more about the campaign .

partner Yemeni Women Union (YWU) acted on a rumour about an 8-year-old girl getting married, by getting a district lawyer to appoint a legal consultant to investigate Iman’s case. Many girls aren’t rescued the way Iman was. More than 650 million women and girls around the world today were married or in informal unions before age 18. Child marriage is a human rights violation driven by poverty and gender inequality, among other factors. Girls entering child marriages or early unions tend to drop out of school. Without an education, economic independence is near impossible.

In 2022, we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl Child. Today more than 1.1 billion girls are poised to take on the future. Every day, girls are breaking boundaries and barriers, tackling issues like child marriage, education inequality, violence, climate justice, and inequitable access to healthcare. Girls are proving they are unstoppable. On this day, it is time for us all to stand accountable – with and for girls – and to invest in a future that believes in their agency, leadership and potential.

Around 33 million people, including 16 million children, have been affected by this year’s torrential monsoon rains in Pakistan triggering the most severe flooding in the country’s recent history. Villages have been washed away leaving about 3.4 million children in need of assistance and at an increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition. is helping deliver safe drinking water, medical supplies, therapeutic food supplies and hygiene kits to children and families. The UN agency is establishing temporary learning centres and supporting the protection and psychosocial wellbeing of children affected by these devastating floods.

Mohammad Al-Amin was 14 years old when he was arrested. He had been accused of vandalism and was transferred to a child detention centre in the outskirts of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka. He was terrified. Al-Amin would go on to spend 9 months in detention. He was eventually released through a virtual court system that had been established by Bangladesh’s Supreme Court, with UNICEF’s support. Since Bangladesh’s first virtual children’s court was set up, more than 5,000 children have been granted bail and released from detention. The majority have been reunited with their families and so far, only two children have reoffended.

All time top-ranking DJ sisters Liv and Mim Nervo have written a new track to raise awareness of child vulnerability, child labour and trafficking. Here they explain their motivation and the origins of the song.

launched its annual Summer Fun Weeks (SFWs) last week to serve some 120,000 Palestine refugee children and youth in the Gaza Strip. SFW will be held between 25 June - 28 July and will be provide vital psychosocial support for child and youth impacted by the repeated rounds of conflict and violence they have survived. Some 42 per cent of first grade UNRWA students surveyed require psychosocial support.

The war changed everything for Ukraine’s children, robbing them of stability, safety, their friends. As the fighting moved closer to civilian populations, life for many children moved underground. Relatively protected from the physical horrors unfolding above their heads, children who sought shelter below struggled to piece together some semblance of normalcy.  brings us the stories of five children whose lives have been upended by the war.

In this , you will learn about your rights as young people and children and about how your rights are connected to the environment.

In Burkina Faso, Latifatou dreamt of becoming a seamstress to escape poverty and child labour. Thanks to support from the , her dream is about to come true.

According to a new , the number of crisis-affected children and adolescents who need education support is estimated at 222 million - much higher than a previous estimate and an alarming trend.