UNICEF Canada is calling on Parliament to adopt Bill S-212, legislation proposing a national strategy for children and youth, after a new UNICEF report ranked Canada 22nd out of 37 peer countries on child well-being. The report highlights rising child poverty, increasing child mortality and high adolescent suicide rates among wealthy countries. “Opportunity should not … Read more
Over a hundred youth leaders and key stakeholders met in Ottawa and virtually to mark National Child Day at UNICEF Canada’s annual Youth Advocacy Summit. Leading this group are participants from UNICEF Canada’s Youth Advocacy Program who are calling on the country’s leaders to deliver truly generational investments to safeguard children’s futures and for the adoption of … Read more
UNICEF Report Card 19, which looks at the state of child and youth well-being across high-income countries, ranks Canada 19th out of 36 countries, far below the top tier expected of one of the world’s the wealthiest nations. Even as Canada’s national wealth has risen over the past 25 years, it’s progress on indicators of child well-being has largely … Read more
UNICEF says urgent funding is needed to restore health services and critical infrastructure after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake devastated central Myanmar, killing over 1,600 people and injuring more than 3,400—many of them children. The agency warns that damage to hospitals, schools, roads, and electricity has left families without access to care, safe water, and shelter. … Read more
“Rising temperatures, wildfire smoke, pollution, unsafe water and extreme weather events are increasingly disrupting children’s lives—both in Canada and globally,” said UNICEF Canada president and CEO Sevaun Palvetzian. One in five children—or 466 million—live in areas that experience at least double the number of extremely hot days every year compared to just six decades ago, according to … Read more
On July 30, UNICEF Canada brought together experts for a virtual roundtable to discuss the unique impacts of wildfires on children. They called on the Government of Canada to “…take action on climate change to protect the lives, health and well-being of children – including by committing to increased child-sensitive climate funding at COP29 this November and signing the UNICEF Intergovernmental Declaration on … Read more
UNICEF published a new report, The State of the World’s Children 2023: For Every Child, Vaccination, which reveals the perception of the importance of vaccines for children declined by 8.2 percentage points in Canada, and by more than a third in the Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Ghana, Senegal and Japan after the start of the … Read more
UNICEF Canada has responded to the announcement by International Development and La Francophonie Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) of a relief fund to help scale up the humanitarian response to the Rohingya crisis near the Myanmar and Bangladesh border. UNICEF Canada President and CEO David Morley stated: “We are very pleased that Canada is taking action … Read more
International Development and La Francophonie Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) unveiled the Government’s new international assistance policy. In response, David Morley, UNICEF Canada President and CEO, said “We’re pleased to see Canada take the lead towards a global culture shift to empower women and girls. This new Feminist International Assistance Policy provides us with a critical … Read more
UNICEF Canada’s President and CEO, David Morley, issued the following response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) and International Development and La Francophonie Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau‘s (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) announcement of $650 million over three years in funding for sexual and reproductive health and rights: “We are pleased that Canada is seizing the opportunity on International Women’s Day to … Read more
