Record number of children living in war zones, UNICEF reports

The number of children living in conflict zones or forcibly displaced from their homes has reached unprecedented levels, UNICEF reported, with one in six children worldwide now affected by war.

An estimated 473 million children are living in conflict areas globally, according to the UN children’s agency’s latest report. The proportion has doubled from about 10 percent in the 1990s to nearly 19 percent today.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said 2024 was “one of the worst years for children in conflict in UNICEF’s history”, both in terms of numbers affected and impact on children’s lives.

Children in conflict zones face death, injury, forced school abandonment, lack of vital vaccinations and severe malnutrition, the report found.

“A child growing up in a conflict zone is far more likely to be out of school, malnourished, or forced from their home”, Russell said.

“This cannot become the new normal. We cannot allow a generation of children to become collateral damage in the world’s unchecked wars”.

The agency reported that 47.2 million children were displaced due to conflict and violence by the end of 2023. The displacement trend is expected to worsen in 2024 as conflicts intensify in several regions, including Haiti, Lebanon, Myanmar, the Palestinian Territories and Sudan.