New York: In its 2025 annual report, UNICEF said children living in war-affected regions such as Ukraine, Sudan and the Gaza Strip face daily risks to their lives, with fear, trauma and deprivation replacing what should be a normal childhood. “Children in war zones are far from having a childhood worthy of the name,” said Christian Schneider, UNICEF’s executive director in Germany, noting widespread cases of depression, sleep disorders and developmental delays among affected children.
The report highlighted a grim milestone, with famine recorded in two countries in the same year for the first time. In Sudan, famine was observed in parts of Darfur in both 2024 and 2025, while in Gaza, famine was declared in parts of Gaza City during the summer of 2025 following war and a prolonged blockade that restricted humanitarian aid. UNICEF said around 100,000 children in Gaza are now suffering from severe food insecurity.
Elsewhere, the humanitarian situation remains equally alarming. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 35,000 cases of sexual violence against children were recorded in the first nine months of 2025, alongside the country’s worst cholera outbreak in 25 years.
UNICEF noted that nearly one in five children worldwide now live in crisis or conflict zones, almost double the proportion seen in the mid-1990s. The United Nations also documented a record 41,370 grave violations of children’s rights in 2024, a 25 per cent increase from the previous year, along with the highest level of attacks on humanitarian workers. While 2025 figures are yet to be released, the outlook remains bleak.
Children in war zones are far from having a childhood worthy of the name
Christian Schneider, Executive Director, Germany