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Record 37 million displaced children worldwide: UNICEF |

This includes 13.7 million refugee and asylum-seeking children, and nearly 22.8 million internally displaced children due to conflict and violence.

However, it does not include children displaced by climate and environmental shocks or disasters, as well as children newly displaced by 2022, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The record number of displaced children is a direct result of stratification crisesspeak UNICEFincluding acute and protracted conflicts such as those in Afghanistan, and fragile countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or Yemen all exacerbated by the devastating effects of climate change.

Spread fast

The agency said child displacement is spreading rapidly. In the previous year, the number of displaced children globally increased by 2.2 million.

“We cannot ignore the evidence: The number of children displaced by conflict and crisis is rapidly increasing – and it is our responsibility to reach them,” said UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell.

I hope this alarming number will motivate governments to prevent displaced children in the first place”, she added, “and when they are displaced, to ensure they have access to education, protection and other vital services that support their health and development now and in the future. future. “

Crisis such as the war in Ukraine, which has displaced more than two million children from the country and three million internally since February, topped this record high.

Bad weather

Children and families are also being displaced from their homes due to extreme weather events, such as drought in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, and severe flooding in Bangladesh, India and South Africa, UNICEF added. .

In 2021, there will be 7.3 million new displaced children as a result of natural disasters.

The global refugee population has more than doubled in the past decade, with children accounting for almost half of all refugees. More than a third of displaced children live in sub-Saharan Africa (3.9 million or 36%), a quarter in Europe and Central Asia (2.6 million or 25%), and 13% (1, 4 million) in the Middle East and North Africa.

As the number of displaced and refugee children reaches record highs, access to essential services and supports such as health care, education and protection is dwindling. Only half of all refugee children attend primary school, while less than a quarter of refugee youth attend secondary school.


Natural disasters displaced 7.3 million children by 2021.

IOM / Muse Mohammed

Natural disasters displaced 7.3 million children by 2021.

Grave Risk

Uprooted children – whether refugees, asylum seekers or internally displaced persons – can face serious risks to their health and safety. This is especially true for the hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied or segregated children who are at high risk of trafficking, exploitation, violence and abuse. Children account for about 28% of human trafficking victims globally.

UNICEF urges Member States to adhere to their commitments to the rights of all uprooted children, including those established under Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and Global Compact on Migration (GCM), and invest more in data and research that reflect the true scale of the problems facing refugee, migrant and displaced children.

6 things to note

UNICEF is calling on governments to take six actions to level the playing field for all refugee, migrant and displaced children:

  1. Provide equal support to all children – wherever they come from.

  2. First, recognize refugee, migrant and displaced children as children – with the right to protection, development and participation.

  3. Increase collective action to ensure effective access to essential services – including health care and education – for all children and families with disabilities regardless of status.

  4. Protect refugee, migrant and displaced children from discrimination and xenophobia.

  5. End harmful border management practices and detention of immigrant children.

  6. Empower refugee, migrant and displaced youth to develop their talents and reach their full potential.

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