UNICEF

The Great Lakes subregion continues to face overlapping crises of conflict, displacement, disease outbreaks, and climate shocks. According to the UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Region Humanitarian Situation Report, millions of vulnerable children and families are in urgent need of assistance. UNICEF and partners have delivered lifesaving interventions across various sectors, reaching approximately 400,000 people, including 313,000 children. However, persistent funding gaps, fragile systems, and limited district-level capacity constrain the scale-up of assistance. The region is expected to face further challenges due to forecasted El Niño-driven extreme weather in the second half of 2026.

The region continues to face life-threatening shocks, including conflict, displacement, escalating malnutrition, and recurrent cholera and measles outbreaks. UNICEF delivered integrated life-saving services to millions, but public health emergencies remain a major concern. Climate risks are intensifying, with a heightened risk of El Niño-related shocks expected to compound food insecurity, child wasting, and disease outbreaks. Displacement-affected communities bear the greatest burden, with children and women at risk of protection risks. Urgent support is needed to prevent further worsening of child health and nutrition outcomes.

The Niger Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) has released its September 2026 overview, outlining a multisectoral network designed to deliver immediate assistance to populations hit by armed conflict, natural disasters, or epidemics. The RRM relies on pre‑positioned relief supplies, agreed procedures, and dedicated capacities to react swiftly. It operates alongside broader humanitarian efforts and state structures, fully integrated into Niger’s coordination architecture and the national Humanitarian Response Plan. Partners—including Action Against Hunger France, the Danish Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee, UNICEF, UN OCHA, and the World Food Programme—report their interventions via an online RRM matrix. Monthly data extraction and analysis by the Niger coordination team produce the current communication, ensuring transparency and informed decision‑making for ongoing relief operations.

Save the Children has partnered with HSBC's Disaster Relief Partnership, along with UNICEF and the British Red Cross, to help communities prepare for natural disasters. The 18-month partnership will support rapid response and relief efforts, as well as anticipatory action in communities at risk. This includes investing in warning systems and first-responder training. The partnership aims to help communities become more resilient to natural and humanitarian disasters.

Viet Nam is bracing for a prolonged and severe El Niño event, expected to persist into early 2027. The humanitarian risks are anticipated to rise from late 2026 and peak during the dry season from January to May 2027. Children and vulnerable households are at risk of water insecurity, food and livelihood losses, and disruptions to essential services. UNICEF is working with the government and partners to strengthen local preparedness, risk communication, and the positioning of essential supplies.

On 5 October, Project Voyager, a UNHCR partner, received the UNHCR “Hope Away from Home” award for its Jobs4Ukraine program at the 24th Civil Society Gala in Romania. The award, presented by a joint panel of IOM, UNHCR, UNICEF and WHO, recognizes projects that help refugees build new beginnings. Jobs4Ukraine connects Ukrainian refugees with employment opportunities through career counseling, training courses, workshops, recruitment events and direct employer links. Project Voyager also earned second prize in the Economic and Social Development category and the Social Impact award. The Gala, held annually since 2002 by The Institute, celebrates civic engagement and outstanding civil society initiatives across Romania.

Ethiopia has lowered the proportion of young women married before 18 from 40 % in 2016 to 32 % in 2025, a milestone highlighted on International Day of the Girl. The decline reflects coordinated action by the government, community groups, and international partners. UNICEF, alongside the Ethiopian government, is preparing a second National Costed Roadmap to End Child Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation for 2026‑2031, which will set priority actions and accountability mechanisms. The National Alliance to End Child Marriage and FGM brings together ministries, religious leaders, women’s groups and development partners to sustain progress. Funding from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the Gates Foundation and others is being mobilised to expand proven interventions. Continued investment in girls’ education, health and protection is essential to keep the trend moving upward.

Ghana’s Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG‑Ghana) are conducting a Vaccine Prioritization and Optimization (VPOP) exercise with technical support from WHO and UNICEF. The process moves beyond individual vaccine proposals to evaluate the entire immunization portfolio, weighing public‑health benefits, costs, equity, feasibility, cold‑chain needs, health‑worker workload and long‑term financing. Candidates include the hepatitis B birth dose, rabies, typhoid conjugate, oral cholera and respiratory syncytial virus interventions, as well as schedule changes that could improve impact or simplify delivery. Structured Evidence‑to‑Decision frameworks guide recommendations, which will inform updates to Ghana’s National Immunization Strategy and the country’s application for Gavi support. The VPOP aims to secure sustainable, evidence‑based vaccine choices as external financing shifts.

As of October 7, 3,807 people have arrived in Djibouti from Yemen, with 50% being children, including 15% under five. Acute watery diarrhoea cases have been reported, with 35 cases in Markazi village, where 74% of cases involve children under 15. UNICEF is supporting the response, including case management, safe water, and sanitation. Acute malnutrition among targeted children is high, with 69 cases of severe acute malnutrition and 97 cases of moderate acute malnutrition. The child protection caseload is growing, with nine unaccompanied and separated children identified and referred to UNICEF.

UNICEF’s latest humanitarian flash update reports 23 confirmed mpox cases and 135 suspected cases across the Sab, Biombo and Bafatá regions of Guinea‑Bissau, with no deaths recorded as of 27 September. The source of infection remains unknown for 74 % of confirmed cases, underscoring gaps in surveillance and contact tracing. Three confirmed cases involve infants around 11–12 months old, prompting a priority for close clinical follow‑up and household investigations as schools reopen. UNICEF is expanding prevention support, providing WASH supplies and informational materials to 50 health facilities and distributing posters and comic books to more than 5,000 public‑school classrooms in the affected regions. The agency urgently requests approximately US$250,000 in flexible funding to sustain these interventions, while the Ministry plans to extend the national response plan by an additional six months.

UNICEF’s latest analysis projects the 2026‑2027 El Niño to become one of the strongest on record, bringing unusually wet or dry conditions to nearly 100 countries. More than 347 million children—190 million in Asia and the Pacific, 41 million each in East and Southern Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, and 22 million in Europe and Central Asia—will face heightened risk of floods, droughts, and related disruptions. Children in Colombia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines may suffer water scarcity and malnutrition, while those in the Greater Horn of Africa could confront riverine flooding and disease spread. UNICEF urges governments, donors and partners to invest in anticipatory action, climate‑resilient systems and humanitarian access before impacts peak.

UNICEF has warned that one in five children in Lebanon is going to bed hungry, with four in five households struggling to afford basic necessities. The UN Children’s Fund highlighted that children are increasingly missing school and being pushed into work as the country’s conflict and long‑standing economic crisis deepen. A father of four, cited by UNICEF, said he could not buy clothes for his children and could not afford to enroll them in school. The report underscores the growing humanitarian crisis affecting Lebanon’s youngest residents.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell ended a two-day visit to Jordan, commending the country's progress for children. Despite strong national strategies, around one in seven children live in multidimensional poverty, and nearly three in four children experience violent discipline at home. A declining funding environment affects the ability to deliver essential services for vulnerable children. UNICEF is calling for continued donor support through flexible, multi-year funding.