J. Promotion

20/08/2026

20/08/2026

20/08/2026

15/08/2026

14/08/2026

More than 2.6 million girls in Afghanistan have been denied a secondary education in the five years since the de facto authorities took power.

Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where secondary and higher education is effectively closed to girls and women.

Girls have been barred from formal education beyond grade six since September 2021, and women from universities since December 2022.

“Five years may be brief in a country’s history, but it is a defining period in a girl’s life,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

“A classroom offers more than learning. It gives a young person a voice and the ability to reach their full potential. And it offers a shield against child labour, early marriage, and violence and abuse. When schools closed, that protection disappeared – at a time when girls needed it most.”

Girls who are out of school face heightened protection risks, including child labour, abuse, early marriage and gender-based violence.

Despite the restrictions, UNICEF continues to support learning in Afghanistan. In 2025, more than 3.7 million children in public schools received emergency education support, 442,000 children took part in community-based learning - 66% of them girls - and 232 schools were built or rehabilitated.

"UNICEF calls on the de facto authorities to lift the restrictions on education and allow all girls and women to return to schools and universities immediately," said Russell.

Read more: https://unicef.link/3TMjEUZ

13/08/2026

12/08/2026

"We were told not to get used to her". Eleven years later, Sophia is still proving everyone wrong.

Sophia was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic condition that causes progressive muscle weakness. When she was a baby, her parents were told she was unlikely to live beyond her first birthday.

Her dad Gennadiy remembers being told: "Take her home, love her, but don't get used to her."

But Sophia has spent her life proving the odds wrong.

Now 11 years old, she continues to amaze everyone around her. Access to a groundbreaking treatment has halted the progression of her condition and transformed her quality of life, giving her and her family hope for the future.

This Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month, we're celebrating children like Sophia and highlighting the importance of research that can change lives.

A few years ago, Action Medical Research and Spinal Muscular Atrophy UK funded research at Keele University into a potential new treatment for SMA.

Read Sophia's inspiring story: https://action.org.uk/research/family-stories/sophias-story-spinal-muscular-atrophy

Learn more about the SMA research we funded: https://action.org.uk/research/spinal-muscular-atrophy-developing-potential-new-treatment

Phia Sophia - Life on the Edge

07/08/2026

Que se passe-t-il avant qu’un enfant reçoive un vaccin ?

Il y a des équipes engagées, des familles rencontrées et une mission commune : protéger la santé des enfants.
Découvrez les coulisses d’une campagne de vaccination au Tchad avec l’appui de l’UNICEF.
👉🏽 https://unicef.link/4wT5BuU

🩵


KSRelief, Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada, End Polio Now, Rotary International, Nutrition International, EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid, Gates Foundation, World Bank Group.
UNICEF Africa