The United Nations Children’s Fund estimates that about 473 million children, or more than one in six, live in conflict zones around the world.
UNICEF’s statement on Saturday came as conflicts continued around the world, including in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, among other places.
In Israel’s devastating war on Gaza in particular, at least 17,492 children were killed during nearly 15 months of conflict that reduced much of the Strip to rubble.
“By almost every measure, 2024 was one of the worst years on record for children in conflict in UNICEF’s history – both in terms of the number of children affected and the level of impact on their lives,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
According to Russell, a child who grows up in a conflict zone is much more likely to be out of school, suffer from malnutrition, or have to leave their home than a child who lives in places where there is no conflict.
“This should not be the new normal. We cannot allow a generation of children to become collateral damage of the world’s unchecked wars,” the director said.
UNICEF said the proportion of children living in conflict zones has doubled – from about 10 percent in the 1990s to nearly 19 percent today.
According to the report, 47.2 million children were displaced due to conflict and violence by the end of 2023.
Trends for 2024 indicate a further increase in displacement rates due to the intensification of various conflicts, including in Haiti, Lebanon, Myanmar, the Palestinian Territories and Sudan.
Additionally, in the most recent data available, as of 2023, the UN verified a record 32,990 grave violations against 22,557 children – the highest number since UN Security Council-mandated monitoring began, UNICEF said.
The agency said that there is a general upward trend in the number of serious violations, and this year is likely to witness another increase, as “thousands of children have been killed and injured in Gaza and Ukraine.”
UNICEF also reported that sexual violence against children has escalated, their education has been affected, child malnutrition rates have risen, and armed conflicts have significantly affected children’s mental health.
“The world is failing these children. As we look toward 2025, we must do more to turn the tide and save and improve children’s lives,” Russell said.
Gaza children ‘cold, sick and traumatized’
In Gaza — where the Israeli army killed more women and children last year than any modern conflict has in a single year, Oxfam reported in September — UNICEF communications specialist Rosalia Pauline said last September that The ongoing war is a “nightmare” for children. A week in a press conference.
“Children in Gaza are suffering from cold, illness and trauma,” Bolin said last Friday.
She added that about 96% of women and children in Gaza cannot meet their basic food needs, expressing her regret that aid does not reach children in the Strip.
“Gaza must be one of the most heartbreaking places on Earth for humanitarian workers. Every small effort to save a child’s life is marred by extreme devastation,” said Bolin.
“For more than 14 months, the children have been on the brink of this nightmare.”
Bolin said that many children in the besieged enclave do not have winter clothes, are forced to rummage through garbage for supplies and are infected with diseases.
It urged the use of political capital and diplomatic influence to push for the evacuation of injured children and their parents to leave Gaza and seek medical care in East Jerusalem or elsewhere.
“This war must haunt every one of us. The children of Gaza cannot wait,” she stressed.
