Hope must always spring eternal for our children
Anew year often brings with it a great deal of hope. The hope for a fresh start, a change for the better or for things to improve. However, as we begin 2024, with a seemingly relentless barrage in the news of war or disaster, it can be a challenge to remain feeling hopeful.
I believe it is important to retain hope because it is what makes us human. The hope that things will get better, rather than worse. The hope for a better world for all our children, even in the face of challenges.
And there is no denying that things have been challenging for many children in 2023. For far too many young people across the world, last year was an awful time.
In some corners of the globe, the laughter of children’s innocence was drowned out by the impact of conflict, war or disaster. The year 2023 saw the rise of new conflicts. Children have been killed, injured, taken hostage, separated from their parents and loved ones – a whole barrage of atrocities, inflicted on the most vulnerable. Violence between armed forces and groups in Sudan has driven at least six million people from their homes, more than half of those are children, making it the largest child displacement crisis globally.
At the same time, Gaza has become the most dangerous place in the world for young people, with more than 5350 children reported killed. With winter setting in, the war in Ukraine left 4.1 million children in need. Making matters even worse, in 2023 these conflicts have coincided with
other devastating crises, like the catastrophic flooding in Libya or the earthquakes in Turkey, Syria and Afghanistan, along with food insecurity experienced in the Horn of Africa. It’s when these disasters and conflicts occur that UNICEF, and other agencies, step in to provide a glimmer of hope for those affected.
During 2023, we were able to be on the ground quickly following these multiple crises, helping children and families by delivering lifesaving help.
The sheer scale of UNICEF’s infrastructure and our long-term development work around the world means that we can act quickly. UNICEF’s supply division can deliver emergency supplies anywhere in the world within 72 hours.
When food was scarce in Yemen and across the Horn of Africa, we provided children with nutrition and
health care. When schools were destroyed in Syria, tented classrooms were set up.
In Gaza, despite the challenging humanitarian and security situation, UNICEF and our partners are actively present, providing immediate humanitarian support, including ready-to-eat food, tents, blankets, hygiene kits, water treatment essentials and mental health support.
In Ukraine, even though global attention has moved to more recent conflicts, our teams remain, providing invaluable support to children and families. We have provided the children of Ukraine with access to safe water, sanitation and healthcare after infrastructure was damaged or destroyed. We supported nearly 200,000 children to access education and, as part of a Ukraine winter response, UNICEF partners
distributed over 20,000 sets of winter clothing kits to vulnerable children under 15. Globally, in humanitarian settings, UNICEF has reached more than 23 million people with safe drinking water and vaccinated 27 million children against measles.
Being fully funded from donations – we receive no funding from the United Nations – we couldn’t do our lifesaving work without the generous help of our supporters, many of whom are Australian families wanting to help children everywhere, along with UNICEF’s supporters in the business community and government sectors.
That’s why, with this support, in 2024 UNICEF will continue to be there on the ground, when the inevitable disasters strike and where wars and conflicts continue.