Child Refugees
and Migrants

How UNICEF works to save and protect refugee children

Globally, there are tens of millions of refugees and internally displaced children and families struggling to survive, awaiting humanitarian aid or safe harbor.

By mid 2022, the number of people worldwide forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution has reached an all-time high, propelled by the war in Ukraine, and by fighting in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere.

Climate shocks, earthquakes and other natural disasters continue to uproot vulnerable children and families. There are large numbers of displaced and refugee children and families in and around South Sudan, Syria and Venezuela.

Children who lose their homes or statehood shouldn't have to forfeit their childhoods. They urgently need help, and UNICEF won't stop helping them. Every refugee — especially the youngest and most vulnerable — deserves respect, assistance and protection. Whether children on the move are migrants, refugees or internally displaced, they are all children first.

Delivering lifesaving supplies to help uprooted children stay safe and healthy

Whether in Eastern Europe or the Middle East, Africa or Southeast Asia or the Americas, UNICEF acts to defend the rights of all vulnerable children on the move and to protect their futures. 

UNICEF also creates safe spaces for uprooted children to learn and play and to receive mental health and psychosocial support, whether they are staying in camps or informal settlements or in host communities.

Here are some examples of how UNICEF is helping refugees from around the world.

Europe and Central Asia: UNICEF's response to the Ukrainian refugee emergency

Nearly 8 million people have fled Ukraine since war escalated on Feb. 24, 2022. Roughly 9 out of 10 of them are children and women.

UNICEF is assisting children and families on the move at dozens of 'Blue Dot' centers jointly established along transit routes with UNHCR in close coordination with local authorities and other partners. These centers reach up to 1,000 people a day with education and psychosocial support, health care, safe water and hygiene supplies, protection and other services.

UNICEF is also training teachers in Moldova and other neighboring countries to support child refugees through inclusive education and violence prevention.

Syrian Refugee Crisis: reaching vulnerable children living in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey

Until the recent escalation of war in Ukraine, the Syrian refugee crisis stemming from over a decade of conflict in the country was the largest displacement crisis in the world, with 5.7 million registered refugees — including over 2.7 million children — living in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. 

Together with partners, UNICEF continues to Syrian refugee children and families living in camps, informal settlements and urban settings — as well as vulnerable children from host communities — with essential education, water and sanitation and hygiene (WASH), child protection, health, nutrition and social protection services and adolescent and youth programs.

Southeast Asia: How UNICEF is supporting Rohingya refugees

The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar. Facing violence and persecution, 1.1 million Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar since 2017; 90 percent are now living in Bangladesh and Malaysia. The vast majority of Rohingya refugees are women and children, including newborn babies. Many others are elderly people requiring additional aid and protection.

UNICEF continues to provide critical lifesaving support to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the largest refugee settlement in the world. UNICEF's education programs with partners serve 300,000 children in Cox's Bazar.

The Americas: Protecting the rights of children on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border

UNICEF is leveraging decades of humanitarian expertise to help children fleeing gang violence, persecution, extreme poverty and the devastating effects of climate change in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. UNICEF’s work supporting and protecting the rights of children migrating to the U.S. has included supporting shelters and service providers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

A call to action for UNICEF USA supporters

The United States welcomes thousands of refugees each year, providing many with the opportunity to resettle in the country. Once settled in host communities, however, vulnerable refugee and migrant children and families are often subjected to discrimination, xenophobia and stigmatization.

Guided by UNICEF’s Agenda for Action for Uprooted Children, UNICEF USA is urging its supporters to combat xenophobia and welcome refugees and migrants. Every child needs to be safe and protected, regardless of where they are from or where they are going.

Support UNICEF's global efforts to meet urgent needs of displaced and refugee children and to protect their rights. Your contribution can make a difference.