© UNICEF/NYHQ2011-2138/Kat Palasi Philippines
Children displaced by Tropical Storm Washi look at UNICEF-provided colouring supplies, at a child-friendly space in a high school in the coastal city of Iligan, Northern Mindanao Region. The spaces offer safe places for children to play, learn, and regain a sense of normalcy after a disaster.

By Rudina Vojvoda

NEW YORK, USA, 1 March 2012 – More than one billion children live in urban areas according to UNICEF’s flagship report, ‘The State of the World’s Children 2012: Children in an Urban World’.

On the whole, children in urban areas typically have better educational opportunities than those in rural areas. But for many urban children from marginalized groups – including the children of migrants and children living in slums or on the streets – education remains inaccessible. Many fail to meet registration requirements to enrol in urban schools and others can’t afford education-related costs, such as uniforms, books and supplies.

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© UNICEF Japan/2011/Kaneko
UNICEF Japan Ambassador Agnes Chan visited children in the earthquake-devastated area of Miyagi, where 378 children lost their lives and 191 are still missing as a result of the disaster in March.

By Rudina Vojvoda

GENEVA, Switzerland, 13 May 2011 – Last year, children bore their share of natural disasters and the economic crises that followed. Millions of children suffered as a result of floods in Pakistan and the earthquake in Haiti.

@ UNICEF/NYHQ2008-0340/Adam Dean
Left homeless by the cyclone, children gather outside a school that serves as a shelter near the town of Kundangon, Myanmar.

By Rudina Vojvoda

NEW YORK, 8 May 2011 – More than 175 million children are likely to be affected each year by climate-related disasters. While coping with climate change is becoming quintessential for our society, so is preparing the future generations to deal with the aftermath of disasters and adapt to the ever-changing climate.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2009-2184/Ricardo PiresClosing of the Children's Climate Forum in Copenhagen-Dec.'09.

NEW YORK, USA, 11 December 2009 – Architect Carlos Vasquez designs child-friendly schools for UNICEF. This past week, he had the opportunity to give presentations about his schools, which are built to withstand disasters caused by climate change, at the Children’s Climate Forum in Copenhagen.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2006-0553/Noorani
Children play outside a child-friendly school in Sudan.

By Pi James

NEW YORK, USA, 10 December 2009 – This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, yet challenges remain in ensuring that its promise becomes a reality for all of the world’s children.

© UNICEF/2009/Becker-Jostes
UNICEF Climate Ambassador Toriqul Momen, 15, from Bangladesh delivered a presentation on the effects of climate change in his home country during Youth Day at COP15 in Copenhagen.

By Joan Howe

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, 10 December 2009 – Hundreds of children, including eight UNICEF ‘Climate Ambassadors’, wore vibrant orange-and-green t-shirts celebrating ‘Youth Day’ at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) here today.