Nearly half a billion children - more than one in six of the world's children - now live in areas affected by war and conflict, with the world experiencing the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in an analysis released Saturday. In 2024, it is estimated that more children than ever before will either live in conflict zones or be forcibly displaced by conflict and violence.
According to a UNICEF review of the latest available data and prevailing global trends, the impact of armed conflict on children around the world has reached devastating and likely record levels in 2024. Children affected by conflict face violations of their rights, including being killed and injured, being out of school, missing out on life-saving vaccines, and being severely malnourished.
âBy almost every measure, 2024 has been one of the worst years on record for children in conflict in UNICEFâs historyâboth in terms of the number of children affected and the level of impact on their lives,â said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell in a statement.
âA child growing up in a conflict zone is far more likely to be out of school, malnourished, or forced from their homeâtoo often repeatedlyâcompared to a child living in places of peace. This must not be the new normal. We cannot allow a generation of children to become collateral damage to the worldâs unchecked wars.â
Conflict is estimated to cause about 80 percent of the world's humanitarian needs, disrupting access to vital necessities such as safe water, food and health care.
With more than 473 million children, the percentage of the world's children living in conflict has doubled - from about 10 percent in the 1990s to nearly 19 percent today. And the number is expected to rise.
By the end of 2023, 47.2 million children had been displaced by conflict and violence, and trends for 2024 indicate additional displacement due to intensifying conflicts, including in Sudan, Haiti, Myanmar, Gaza and Lebanon.
While children make up only 30 percent of the world's population, on average they account for about 40 percent of refugee populations and 49 percent of internally displaced persons (IDPs). In countries affected by armed conflict, more than one-third of the population is poor, compared to just over 10 percent in countries not affected by conflict.
In the most recent data available, from 2023, the United Nations verified a record 32,990 grave violations against 22,557 children - the highest number since Security Council-mandated monitoring began. With the overall upward trend in the number of grave violations, the UN verified more child casualties in the first nine months of 2024 than in all of 2023. The year 2024 is likely to see a further increase.
For example, thousands of children have been killed and injured as a result of armed conflict in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine.
âChildren in war zones face a daily struggle for survival that deprives them of a childhood,â said Russell.
âTheir schools are bombed, homes destroyed, and families torn apart. They lose not only their safety and access to basic life-sustaining necessities, but also their chance to play, to learn, and to simply be children.
She said that the world is failing these children.
âAs we look towards 2025, we must do more to turn the tide and save and improve the lives of children. "
UNICEF warns that the situation for women and girls is particularly worrying, with widespread reports of rape and sexual violence in conflict zones. In Haiti, for example, there has been a 1,000 percent increase in reported incidents of sexual violence against children so far this year.
In situations of armed conflict, children with disabilities are also disproportionately exposed to violence and human rights abuses.
Education has been severely disrupted in conflict zones. According to UNICEF, at least 52 million children in conflict-affected countries are estimated to be out of school. Children in the Gaza Strip and a significant proportion of children in Sudan have missed more than a year of schooling, while in countries such as Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Syria, schools have been damaged, destroyed or converted, leaving millions of children without access to learning.
The destruction of educational infrastructure and insecurity around schools have exacerbated an already dire situation for children's education in these regions.
When fragile states are included in the analysis, the number of children impacted nearly doubles. Some 103 million children living in conflict or fragile countries around the world were out of school in 2024, according to a new analysis released Friday by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Save the Children.
Child malnutrition in conflict zones has also risen to alarming levels, as conflict and armed violence continue to be the main drivers of hunger in numerous hotspots, disrupting food systems, displacing populations, and impeding humanitarian access.
In Sudan, for example, where war has raged since April 2023, famine conditions were determined in several regions this year, the first famine determination since 2017. Overall, more than one million people in five conflict-affected countries are estimated to be living in catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5), the most extreme food insecurity situation, in 2024.
Conflict also has a devastating impact on children's access to critical health care. According to UNICEF, approximately forty percent of unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children live in countries that are either partially or entirely affected by conflict. These children are often the most vulnerable to outbreaks of diseases such as measles and polio due to disruptions and lack of access to security, nutrition and health services.
The impact on children's mental health is also enormous. Exposure to violence, destruction and loss of loved ones can manifest itself in children through reactions such as depression, nightmares and sleep disturbances, aggressive or withdrawn behavior, sadness and fear, among others.
For instance, according to a recent study, caregivers in Gaza reported that 96 percent of children feel death is imminent, and nearly half believe they will die because of the war.
Meanwhile, 2024 has become the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers, with 281 aid workers killed worldwide as of November, surpassing previous records.
UNICEF calls on all parties to conflict and those with influence over them to take decisive action to end the suffering of children, ensure their rights are upheld and abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Further information
Full text: âNot the new normalâ â 2024 'one of the worst years in UNICEFâs history' for children in conflict, UNICEF, press release, published December 28, 2024
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/not-new-normal-2024-one-worst-years-unicefs-history-children-conflict