Almost one in five children in the world lives in areas affected by conflict, with more than 473 million children suffering the worst levels of violence since World War II, according to figures released by the United Nations.
The percentage of children living in conflict zones around the world has risen from about 10 percent in the 1990s to about 19 percent, the UN children’s humanitarian agency (UNICEF) said, warning that the dramatic increase in harm to children should not become the new normal.
More conflicts are taking place around the world than at any time since 1945, with children increasingly becoming victims. The UN, citing its latest available data (for 2023), confirmed a record 32,990 grave violations against 22,557 children, the highest number since the Security Council mandated monitoring of the impact of war on the world’s children nearly 20 years ago.
The death toll from the nearly 15-month-long Israeli war on Gaza is estimated to be more than 45,000, and the UN said 44 percent of the cases it has confirmed were children.
“By almost every measure, 2024 was one of the worst years in UNICEF’s history, both in terms of the number of children affected and the impact on their lives,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“A child growing up in a conflict zone is more likely to miss school, suffer malnutrition or be forced to flee their homes than a child living in a peaceful place; this must not become the new normal; We cannot allow a generation of children to become collateral damage to the world’s uncontrollable wars.
UNICEF drew particular attention to the plight of women and girls, amid widespread reports of sexual abuse and violence in conflict. In Haiti, the number of reported cases of sexual violence against children increased by 1,000 percent in 2024 alone.
UNICEF also noted that children are particularly affected by malnutrition in times of war, which is a particular threat in Sudan and Gaza. More than half a million people are facing famine in five war-affected countries.
UNICEF reported that more than 52 million children in conflict-affected countries are out of school, saying that most children across the Gaza Strip and a significant proportion in Sudan have been out of school for more than a year. In other conflict-affected countries, including Ukraine and Congo, schools have been damaged, destroyed or converted, leaving millions of children without access to education.
A study by the charity War Child in early December found that 96 percent of children in Gaza feel their death is imminent and almost half want to die as a result of the trauma they have suffered.
“Children in war zones face a daily struggle for survival that deprives them of their childhood; their schools are bombed, their homes destroyed and their families torn apart; they are not only deprived of safety and access to basic necessities, but also of the chance to play, learn and simply be children,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“The world is failing to protect these children; as we look to 2025, we must do more to turn the tide and save and improve children’s lives,” said Russell.
