Press Releases
December 12, 2012
UNICEF Calls for End to Violence against Children in South of Thailand
A UNICEF official today urged an immediate halt to violence against children in Thailand’s restive southern provinces, where an 11-month-old girl was among five people killed in an attack on a Narathiwat tea house on Tuesday. The infant girl, Infani Samo, was killed early Tuesday morning when gunmen armed with automatic weapons sprayed gunfire into a tea house in Narathiwat’s Rangae district. More than 50 children have been killed and some 340 injured in Thailand’s southern border provinces since the resurgence of violence in January 2004.
December 11, 2012
More Than 600 Schools Looted or Damaged by Conflict in D.R. Congo
In the aftermath of the fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that led to the displacement of more than 130,000 people, some 250 schools in North and South Kivu provinces have been occupied or looted since September, UNICEF said today. At least 240,000 students have missed weeks of school since April as a result of the conflict. UNICEF calls on all the parties involved in the fighting to vacate school buildings and ensure safe access to education for children.
December 5, 2012
UNICEF Regional Director Maria Calivis on School Shelling near Damascus, Syria
“UNICEF condemns yesterday’s shelling of a school near Damascus that killed a number of students and a teacher. Since the violence in Syria began, schools have been looted, vandalized and burned. This is unacceptable. Schools are, and must remain, zones of peace. UNICEF renews its call for all parties to the conflict in Syria to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and to ensure that all children are protected at all times.”
December 3, 2012
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom Spends a Day with South African Children
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom met with young people near Cape Town to learn more about their lives and to spread the word about what they have to say. The actor met with young reporters at an Atlantis community radio station, where he gave an exclusive interview. The young people are part of the Youth Reporters Network, a partnership between UNICEF, the Children’s Radio Foundation and the Department of Basic Education, which gives young people a platform to broadcast their views on violence and teen pregnancy.
December 3, 2012
100 Millionth Person Receives Lifesaving Meningitis Vaccine
A revolutionary meningitis vaccine will reach the 100 millionth person this week in a region of Africa that has been plagued by deadly epidemics for more than a century. The milestone will take place in northern Nigeria, part of Africa’s “meningitis belt,” where the country is conducting its second seasonal immunization campaign against the disease. Nigeria will vaccinate 16 million people over the next two weeks and Cameroon and Chad are also conducting immunization campaigns this week targeting 5.5 million and 2.3 million people respectively.
