Ukraine: Children’s mental health a key priority, says UNICEF

As airstrikes and conflict continue to devastate communities across Ukraine, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, is raising urgent concerns about the mental health and well-being of the country’s children.Kenan Madi, Chief of Field Operations for UNICEF in Ukraine, warns that the war is leaving thousands of children without homes, heat, power, or access to basic services, making everyday life “extremely difficult.”Education has also been severely disrupted.Despite ongoing efforts, UNICEF’s appeal for Ukraine remains only partially funded, leaving millions of children at risk as another harsh winter looms.UN News’s Nargiz Shekinskaya started by asking Mr. Madi what are the main needs of the children living on the frontlines of the conflict. 

The Russian shelling of a UN humanitarian convoy in the Kherson region of Ukraine earlier this month underscores the risks aid workers face every day, as the Russian full-scale invasion of the country enters its fourth winter.Andrea de Domenico is the Ukraine country head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. He told Nargiz Shekinskaya from UN News that, despite the dangers they face, and limited resources, he and his team remain committed to helping the population. 

As access slowly improves under the Gaza ceasefire deal, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is scaling up operations and mobilising funds to ensure the safe removal of dangerous munitions following two years of devastating bombardment.Priority is being given to main roads, infrastructure, and essential services for civilians in the enclave who face a deadly threat from unexploded hazards.Luke Irving, head of UNMAS’s mission in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, spoke to UN News’s Ezzat El-Ferri, emphasising a message of hope and resilience for civilians through “small steps” each day.

Women are central to achieving food security in Tanzania as they make up 70 per cent of the East African nation’s agricultural workforce; that’s according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in the country, Nyabenyi Tipo.FAO is celebrating its 80th anniversary on World Food Day on 16 October, the theme for which is collaborating for a peaceful, sustainable, prosperous, and food-secure future.Sabrina Said asked Ms. Tipo about the significance of this milestone and how FAO Tanzania is celebrating the occasion.

The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO, is urging people in the restive eastern part of the country not to lose hope after years of conflict.Binto Keita spoke to UN News’s Jérôme Bernard a few days after she briefed the Security Council in New York on the overall situation in the DRC.She emphasized that the government, the UN and the international community remain engaged in efforts to bring peace to the east, where armed groups continue to terrorise communities.Ms. Keita expressed compassion and empathy for the Congolese people whose “resilience is also very much admirable.” 

A larger and more robust force in Haiti could help “turn the tide” against murderous gangs and give Haitians hope for the future, according to the UN’s designated expert on the human rights situation in the Caribbean country, William O’Neill.Up to 90 per cent of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince is controlled by numerous gangs who murder with impunity and take hostages for ransom.A UN-backed Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) has been unable to stem the violence, but it is hoped the transition to a new, larger and better equipped Gang Suppression Force could prove decisive.UN News’s Daniel Dickinson asked Mr. O’Neill how important it is to establish the new force. 

At just 15 years old, Zunaira Qayyum has already emerged as a climate champion and a UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Youth Advocate for Climate Action and Girls’ Empowerment in Pakistan.In 2022, she began researching how floods and heatwaves in her hometown of Hub, Balochistan, were forcing girls out of school. Her work earned her recognition as one of the winners of UNICEF’s Policy Research Challenge the following year.Today, children across Pakistan face mounting threats from floods, heatwaves, and other extreme weather events, which are making access to education increasingly difficult.UN News’s Hareem Ahmed spoke with Zunaira about her advocacy for gender and climate justice, as well as her views on the importance of youth inclusion in climate action.

As war in Ukraine intensifies, five European countries – Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland and Poland – withdrew this year from the Ottawa Convention banning landmines and the Convention on Cluster Munitions – a move that is deeply concerning Tamar Gabelnick.As Director of both the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the Cluster Munition Coalition, she was in New York urging action to defend the conventions last week as world leaders addressed the General Assembly.In an interview with UN News’s Cristina Silveiro she said considering Russia’s continuing invasion of Ukraine it made sense for nearby nations to focus on self defence – but anti-personnel landmines “remain the dumbest weapon in the world” and “it’s pure chance who they will strike.”

Since the UN was created eight decades ago in the wake of a catastrophic World War, real progress has been made on freedom, equality and justice.But that's not much comfort to those living in conflict zones today worldwide, where accountability is scarce and impunity is rife.UN News’s Conor Lennon caught up with the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Wednesday who’s in New York for high-level week and began by asking him what can really be done to rein in the abusers, beyond naming and shaming them.

In the margins of the General Assembly’s high-level week, UN agencies and partners have come together to highlight the plight of Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza.According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), over 19,000 youngsters have been killed in Gaza over the past two years – an average of 28 children killed every day – the equivalent of an entire classroom. Another 42,000 children have been injured.   Speaking to UN News’s Khaled Mohamed UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban emphasized that the international call to action aims to uphold child rights and help them envision a viable future.