Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
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Children in the Middle East and North Africa face life-threatening situations and multiple vulnerabilities caused by a variety of natural and social hazards, protracted and acute armed conflicts, public health emergencies and climate change-related disasters.
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UNICEF prioritizes emergency preparedness and response to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of children and communities affected by deteriorating humanitarian situations across the region. In 2024, UNICEF will focus on building capacity internally and among partners to effectively address vulnerabilities and ensure readiness to respond to the humanitarian and protection needs of the hardest to reach and most vulnerable children, including those who are separated, unaccompanied and displaced. Building gender-responsive and inclusive national and local capacities for child rights and protection and providing access to vital services to marginalized populations are a must.
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UNICEF requires $72.6 million to implement its humanitarian action across the region and cover the needs of approximately 9 million people, including 3.8 million children. This appeal includes the funding requirements of Algeria, Djibouti, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Libya, while also focusing on a coordinated preparedness and response approach to crises with broader regional impacts.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
The Middle East and North Africa region faces unprecedented challenges, including the impact of protracted and changing crises, compounded by the consequences of climate change. Humanitarian situations and conflicts have diminished national and local capacities and infrastructure. Governance fragility, natural hazards and other global crises have left the most vulnerable populations in the region to experience the worst effects of these situations.
A record number of children across the region, including in the State of Palestine, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, are displaced, have lost family members and continue to be exposed to violence, including gender-based violence, and other trauma. Since conflict erupted in the Sudan, 6 million people, half of them children, have fled their homes. The Sudan is now home to the largest child displacement crisis in the world. Egypt has experienced a surge of Sudanese refugees following the outbreak of war in the Sudan. Prolonged conflict, natural disasters, health emergencies and socioeconomic decline have left 7 million Syrian children in dire need. Despite de-escalation, 11.1 million children remain in need of humanitarian assistance due to protracted conflict in Yemen. The magnitude of hostilities in the State of Palestine has resulted in grave humanitarian consequences, placing children and their families at risk and restricting their access to essential services. Ensuring sustained humanitarian aid in the State of Palestine is imperative, along with strengthening the readiness of UNICEF and its partners to respond in neighbouring countries.
Mixed migration through North African countries to Europe is on the rise and likely to continue, worsening the protection risks for those on the move, especially children and female-headed households. In addition to this, in September 2023, floods and the impact of climate change in Libya exacerbated the fragile security and political instability there, while Djibouti continues to struggle with the effects of drought. The Islamic Republic of Iran hosts the second largest refugee population in the world, within a challenging context severely affected by economic constraints, including sanctions. And Algeria is dealing with a protracted Sahrawi refugee situation in Tindouf.