According to the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, more than 290 schools have been damaged or destroyed only in Ituri this year, which carries the total number of children outside the school in the province to more than 1.3 million.
Protection crisis
Between January and April 2025, an increase in violence displaced more than 100,000 people, half of them children. During this period, the reported cases of kidnapping, mutilation, sexual violence and recruitment and the use of children by armed groups increased by 32 percent compared to the same period last year.
John Adbor, representative of UNICEF in the RDC, referred to the situation as a “crisis of protection”, stating: “violence and conflict are destroying the right of children to learn, putting them at much greater risk of being recruited by armed, exploited and abused groups.”
“The needs are immense and our resources are not enough,” Adborn added, referring to the Emergency Response of UNICEF in the region.
With more than 1.8 million children affected by the conflict now outside the school throughout the RDC, UNICEF is prioritizing mental health and psychosocial support through friendly spaces for children, the reintegration of children previously associated with armed groups and treatment for acute malnutrition.
Who approves two new vaccines to protect RSV babies
The respiratory syncitial virus (RSV) is the main cause of severe pulmonary infections in young children worldwide, resulting in approximately 100,000 deaths each year among children under five years of age.
Stiring, 97 percent of these deaths occur in low and medium -sized countries.
Although the RSV can infect people of all ages, “it is especially harmful to babies, particularly those born prematurely,” Kate O'Brien of the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
About half of all deaths related to RSV occur in babies under six months.
New immunization products
On Friday, who issued recommendations for two new immunization tools: a maternal vaccine, administered to pregnant women in their third quarter to protect their newborns; and an injection of prolonged action antibodies for babies, which begins to protect within a week of administration and lasts at least five months.
Taking into account the global burden of the serious disease of the RSV in babies, who recommends that all countries adopt maternal vaccine or antibody injection as part of their national immunization strategies.
“These RSV immunization products can transform the fight against the serious disease of the RSV, drastically reduce hospitalizations and deaths and, ultimately, save many children's lives worldwide,” Mrs. O'Brien said.
Serious hurricane prognosis compounds of haiti
The UN humanitarians have lent alarm for Haiti's greater vulnerability to natural disasters, warning that the limited ability to respond to the country could be tested severely during the 2025 hurricane season, it is forecast that it is significantly more intense than the average in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The garbage burns on the coast of Haiti.
From June to November, next season raises a serious threat to the impoverished island nation, where the economic crisis, the current violence related to gangs and unbridled insecurity have already displaced more than one million people.
Displacement sites at risk
More than 200,000 people currently live in displacement sites throughout the country, many of which are located in flood -prone areas.
Lacking an adequate shelter, drainage and sanitation, these camps “leave families very vulnerable to storms,” said UN spokesman Stéphane Durric.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) is working with national authorities and humanitarian partners to prepare for the hurricane season. Continuous efforts include contingency planning, mapping of high -risk areas, particularly displacement sites, and strengthening early alert systems.
However, humanitarian access remains limited, and preparation is severely hindered by the lack of prepositioned supplies throughout the country.
This is a “direct consequence of sub -financing,” Dujarric said, adding that “financing remains an important obstacle” for the UN emergency response in Haiti.
