This Eid Al-Adha, Remember the World's Most Vulnerable Children
Wherever there are children in need, UNICEF is there to help. In more than 190 countries and territories, UNICEF works nonstop to protect children and their right to a healthy, happy, safe childhood.
This Eid al-Adha, UNICEF supporters who share their sacrifice provide vulnerable children in places like Syria, Bangladesh, Yemen and Afghanistan with the assistance they need now and the hope for a better future.
Here are just a few ways UNICEF programs are meeting the needs of children and having a positive impact on their lives.
Bringing hope and comfort to children in Syria
© UNICEF/UN0634998/Belal
Abir, 22, holds her son, Ishak, 18 months, outside their house in Jarba village, East Ghouta, Rural Damascus, Syria. “I used to look at my son and feel sad. He was very thin and did not have the energy to play with his brother and cousins,” says Abir. Nothing she tried worked until she learned about a UNICEF-supported mobile medical team dedicated to helping children and mothers in Damascus, Dara’a and Quneitra, in southwestern Syria. After taking Ishak to the mobile unit for treatment with vitamins and nutritional supplements, Abir finally began to see her child improve. “Now, he never stops playing and jumping around!” she says.
Protecting Rohingya refugee children in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
© UNICEF/UN0580002/Latee
Children need protection. One week after an early January fire in the Rohingya refugee settlement in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, damaged shelters, displaced thousands, destroyed learning centers and almost wiped out the entire water and sanitation system, 5-year-old Jamila spoke with a UNICEF-supported psychosocial assistance provider. “When the fire started, I got a fever because it was so hot. Then we heard [explosions],” recalls Jamila. “I was very scared. I was crying. My grandmother brought me out of the camp, and then I stopped crying. But my feet got hurt when we were running, so I started crying again." UNICEF set up a temporary learning center and safe, comforting spaces where children like Jamila can continue their studies and get emotional support.
Treating children suffering from malnutrition in Yemen
© UNICEF/UN0456881/Abaidi
Children need nourishment. In Yemen, one of the world's most dangerous places for children to grow up, UNICEF provides malnutrition screenings and supports treatment centers where they can get the Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food and other interventions they need to grow up strong and healthy. Above, 1-year-old Afnan is treated for malnutrition at a UNICEF-supported Therapeutic Feeding Center in Al Marawi'ah district, Al Hudaydah Governate, Yemen.
Helping children in Afghanistan
© UNICEF/UN0612265/Fazel
UNICEF emergency cash grants that mothers can use at their discretion are providing essential help to parents who struggle to support their families. Tahira, above, is a 28-year-old teacher with two sons, one of them 3-year-old Armin. In March 2022, Tahira received a one-month emergency payment of $100 — or about 9,000 Afghani — as part of UNICEF's efforts to support teachers out of work while their schools remain closed. "When I stopped receiving my salary in August 2021, I felt like life would stop," Tahira said. "When I received the 9,000 Afghani, it felt like 900,000. This allows me to support my family."
Wherever there are vulnerable children, UNICEF is there to help. Supporters’ generosity this Eid will help UNICEF reach even more children who desperately need assistance.
Top photo: Nine-month-old Shaima receives her routine vaccinations at UNICEF-supported Al-Rahabi health center in Sana'a, Yemen. © UNICEF/UN0462240/Ahmed
