UNICEF Warns of Extreme Child Needs as 2026 Appeal Seeks Urgent $7.66B Aid

“Around the world, children caught in conflict, disaster, displacement and economic turmoil continue to face extraordinary challenges,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

Surging conflicts, rising hunger, climate shocks, and collapsing essential services are pushing humanitarian needs for children to unprecedented levels worldwide. As UNICEF launches its Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) 2026 appeal, the organisation is urgently seeking US$7.66 billion to deliver life-saving support to 73 million children across 133 countries and territories next year. This includes 37 million girls and more than 9 million children with disabilities, marking one of the largest appeals in UNICEF's history.

A Growing Web of Overlapping Emergencies

Across nearly every region, children trapped in humanitarian crises are facing multiple, overlapping threats:

• Armed conflicts are intensifying, driving mass displacement and exposing children to grave violations at levels never recorded before.

• Attacks on schools and hospitals—once considered off-limits in conflict—continue with alarming frequency.

• Verified cases of rape and sexual violence against children are increasing sharply.

• Aid workers attempting to reach affected communities are increasingly targeted and obstructed, further limiting access to those most in need.

“Around the world, children caught in conflict, disaster, displacement and economic turmoil continue to face extraordinary challenges,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Their lives are being shaped by forces far beyond their control: violence, the threat of famine, intensifying climate shocks, and the widespread collapse of essential services.”

A Severe Collapse in Global Funding

The humanitarian funding environment has deteriorated drastically in 2025. Cuts by major donor governments—both announced and anticipated—are restricting UNICEF’s ability to reach millions of vulnerable children.

• A 72% funding gap in nutrition programmes has already forced reductions in 20 priority countries, lowering target reach from 42 million to 27 million women and children.

• In education, a US$745 million shortfall threatens to leave millions without access to learning, protection, or safe environments.

• In child protection, rising violations coincide with shrinking resources, severely impacting services for:

  • survivors of sexual violence

  • children recruited by armed groups

  • children needing mental health and psychosocial support

“Severe funding shortfalls are placing UNICEF’s life-saving programs under immense strain,” Russell noted. “Frontline teams are being forced into impossible decisions—prioritizing some communities over others or scaling back essential services that children depend on to survive.”

Shrinking Humanitarian Access

Beyond funding challenges, access restrictions have intensified. In many conflict zones, UNICEF and partners cannot safely reach children trapped behind shifting frontlines. This has made humanitarian diplomacy increasingly critical to negotiate safe access and protect children from escalating violence.

An Alarming Outlook for 2026

UNICEF estimates that over 200 million children will need humanitarian assistance in 2026. Many live in protracted crises, where years of instability have eroded national systems and created intergenerational cycles of:

• under-nutrition

• educational exclusion

• repeated disease outbreaks

• exposure to violence and exploitation

Entire generations are at risk of losing opportunities to grow, learn, and thrive.

UNICEF’s Evolving Strategy Amid a Shifting Humanitarian Landscape

Despite the scale of challenges, UNICEF is adapting to ensure its operations remain effective and grounded in child rights. Key priorities include:

• Focusing on life-saving interventions that deliver the greatest immediate impact

• Strengthening partnerships with governments and local responders to boost sustainability

• Investing in preparedness and anticipatory action, improving crisis forecasting and early response

• Building resilient national systems in health, education, social protection, and nutrition

• Expanding humanitarian diplomacy to secure safe, sustained access to children

“The current global funding crisis does not reflect a decline in humanitarian need,” Russell stressed, “but rather a widening gap between the scale of suffering and available resources. Children are already paying the price.”

A Call to Action for Global Leaders

UNICEF urges governments, institutions, and private sector partners to:

• Increase flexible, multi-year funding for child-focused humanitarian action

• Support locally led responses and strengthen national systems

• Uphold humanitarian principles and prioritize protection of children

• Remove political and bureaucratic barriers that restrict access to vulnerable populations

As the world faces mounting global instability, UNICEF warns that the cost of inaction will be felt most acutely by children—those least responsible for the crises shaping their lives.