Unicef launches £2 billion appeal to reach children in crisis areas
Howard Lake | 31 January 2015 | News
Children’s charity Unicef has launched its largest ever fundraising appeal, seeking £2 billion to reach the 62 million children who are at risk in humanitarian crises around the world.
This is £0.6 billion more than it sought in last year’s appeal.
According to the charity, 230 million children – one in 10 of the world’s children – live in countries and areas affected by armed conflicts alone.
Unicef’s Director of Emergency Programme Afshan Khan says that “children across the world are facing a new generation of humanitarian crises”. These are caused by complex and destructive conficts, natural disasters and other emergencies such as the Ebola epidemic.
Unicef’s Humanitarian Action for Children 2015 appeal
Children in a doorway, Syrian Arab Republic, 2014. Photo: © UNICEF/NYHQ2014-0003/Diffidenti
Unicef’s Humanitarian Action for Children 2015 appeal targets a total of 98 million people, around two thirds of whom are children, in 71 countries. These have been chosen because of the scale of the crises occurring there, the urgency of their impact on children and women, the complexity of the response, and the capacity to respond.
The largest portion of the appeal – £595.9 million – is to help children in Syria and the sub-region. It is also appealing for £330 million to accelerate its work in Ebola-affected communities in West Africa.
The funds raised will be used both for immediate humanitarian action but also in work with Unicef’s partner organisations to help prepare countries for future disasters.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.