Merve Aydogan
10 February 2026•Update: 11 February 2026
HAMILTON, Canada
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday that more than 200 million children in over 130 countries will require humanitarian assistance in 2026 -- one of the most severe global crises facing children.
Speaking at the first regular session of the UNICEF executive board, the agency’s chief, Catherine Russell, said the scale and complexity of challenges confronting children worldwide are intensifying as conflicts, climate shocks, economic instability and inequality continue to deepen.
"The humanitarian situation facing children today is among the most severe we have ever seen," Russell said, adding that "more than 200 million children across over 130 countries need humanitarian assistance in 2026."
Russell said the global environment for children has become increasingly difficult, with pressures mounting on families and communities as needs grow and resources shrink.
"To say that we are meeting at a moment of significant transition, for the world, for the multilateral system, and for UNICEF is quite an understatement," she said. "In the last year, we have seen challenges to the future of the multilateral system, to the value and effectiveness of international aid, and ultimately to the world’s collective responsibility to care for those most in need, especially children."
Warning that decades of progress in child survival are now at risk of being reversed, she noted that "2025 could be the first year this century where child deaths will have increased, reversing generations of progress."
She stressed that child and maternal health remain core priorities for UNICEF, even as humanitarian needs continue to escalate.
"Conflict, climate shocks, economic instability and inequality place enormous pressure on children, families and communities," Russell said.
Highlighting the sharp rise in violence against children, she said last year recorded the highest number of verified grave violations against children ever documented, including killings, abductions and sexual violence.
"At the same time, famine re-emerged in 2025, when two famines were declared simultaneously -- an unprecedented and deeply alarming development," she stated.
Despite rising needs, Russell said that "abrupt, severe funding cuts are forcing impossible choices across humanitarian operations; which lives do we prioritize as we limit supplies, reduce the frequency of services, and scale back interventions that children depend on to survive."
"Delivering for every child means finding ways to leverage our capacity to do more with what we have," she added.
Russell noted that UNICEF operates in more than 190 countries and territories and called for stronger partnerships and reforms to sustain life-saving work.
"The choices we make -- about funding, reform, and partnership -- will shape what is possible for children in the years ahead," she said.
