UNICEF launched a US$ 9.9 billion funding appeal today to reach 109 million children across 146 countries with lifesaving aid in 2025.
The funds will be utilized in UNICEF’s humanitarian response to multiple conflicts, climate shocks, displacement, and health crises expected next year.
Around the world, 213 million children are at the sharp end of unpredictable and volatile humanitarian emergencies. With 109 million children targeted by UNICEF for humanitarian assistance in 2025, donor funding is critical to ensure the response is timely, effective, and sufficient.
“The scale of children’s humanitarian needs is at a historically high level, with more children impacted every day,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Looking ahead to 2025, we estimate that 213 million children in 146 countries and territories will need humanitarian assistance over the course of the year – a staggeringly high number. It is UNICEF’s mandate to reach each of these children with the essential services and supplies they need, and to ensure that their rights are protected and upheld – a mandate that has guided our work for the past 78 years.”
Additionally, in 2024, more than 57.5 million children were born into countries affected by conflict or other humanitarian crises where UNICEF has an emergency appeal. That figure is expected to rise by at least 400,000 in 2025.
The US$9.9billion appeal for 2025 highlights the pressing need to tackle a growing array of humanitarian challenges confronting children in 146 countries.
