More children than ever before are living in war zones or have been forcibly displaced from their homes due to conflict, the United Nations Children's Agency UNICEF said.
An estimated 47.3 million children are living in conflict zones - more than one in six worldwide, the agency said in a report released today.
The proportion of children living in war zones has doubled – from about 10% in the 1990s to nearly 19% today, UNICEF said. They are killed and injured, forced out of school, deprived of vital vaccines or suffering from malnutrition.
“2024 was one of the worst years 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 Kathryn Russell.
"A child growing up in a conflict zone is much more likely to drop out of school, be abused or forced to leave home... This should not be the new normal. We cannot allow a generation of children to become collateral damage to the world's uncontrollable wars."
According to UNICEF, 47.2 million children were displaced by conflict and violence by the end of 2023. Trends for 2024 show a further increase in displacement as various conflicts have intensified, including those in Haiti, Lebanon, Myanmar, the Palestinian Territories and Sudan.
