Blog posts
Innocenti blog posts are published on UNICEF connect - Evidence for Action blog
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The time is now! Preventing violence against women and children requires quality evidence.
Reflections from the world’s premier conference on ending violence against women and violence against children from the Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum 2019
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Research on humanitarian social protection is not only possible, but desperately needed
Rigorous research in humanitarian emergencies is not only feasible but also necessary to determine what constitutes effective assistance in these settings. This column introduces a Special Issue of the Journal of Development Studies which demonstrates that research establishing causal effects is vital for the design of efficient and effective social protection in settings of fragility and displacement.
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Moving the needle on mental health for young people
In the last 50-60 years UNICEF, WHO & member states have worked tirelessly in reducing infant mortality rates and succeeding at it. In fact, one could go so far as to say that this is one of the major development-success stories of our time.
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Inclusive learning: How WASH in schools empowers girls’ education
Ensuring no child is excluded on the basis of gender is a priority identified in UNICEF’s new Education Strategy. To reach this goal, a commitment to strong intersectoral work is paramount. To understand what this means in practice, this blog outlines how Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) plays a significant role in girls’ access to education and could help unlock the future for millions of girls around the world.
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Time to ramp up psychosocial support for adolescents in crisis settings
Globally, the increase in humanitarian crises, protracted conflicts, displacement, violence, terrorism, disease outbreaks, natural disasters and climate change is putting children and adolescents at significant risk of mental and emotional ill-health.
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Child mental health emerging from the shadows
With suicide and self-harm now leading causes of death and injury among young people between 15 to 19 years, UNICEF and WHO are coming together for the first time at the Leading Minds for children conference to tackle the growing scale of mental health disorders among children and young people.
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Turning the tide together on mental ill health for children
In some way, mental ill health has touched everyone. The statistics are alarming, and by some accounts constitute a public health emergency. Today, around 10-20 per cent of all children and adolescents suffer from some type of mental health disorder and mental health conditions account for around 16 per cent of
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The forgotten minority: A personal story sheds light on the added dangers facing migrant girls and women
Maryama* is just 17 years old, but already she has attempted to migrate from Hargeisa in the Horn of Africa to Europe twice. While most migrants face harrowing journeys, her story can help us understand some of the additional challenges facing young women and girls on the move in the Horn of Africa. She was interviewed as part of a broader study on the situation of children on the move in the Horn of Africa carried out by the Innocenti Office of Research.
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Partnering with youth to research the challenges facing young people in the Horn of Africa
Hargeisa city is a fast-growing urban environment that remains safe, unlike many parts of the region. Yet young people living in the city face a myriad of challenges. Unemployment is high amongst youth, and poverty is widespread. In this context, it is not surprising that young people think of a life abroad. “I couldn’t afford a university education, and I couldn’t find a job,” said a young Somali who tried to get to Europe. “I have multimedia skills, but I still couldn’t find a job. I wrote a dozen CVs, but organisations would just throw them away.”
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Pinocchio on trial: Who is guilty?
Pinocchio is sitting at the defendant’s seat with his lawyer, when the judges enter the hall. On one side the prosecutor looks at him grimly, with the Cat and the Fox, Mangiafuoco, the puppet master, and the teacher next to him.On the other side, the father Geppetto, a poor woodcarver, and the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair, the fictitious mother who Pinocchio never had, wait for their turn in silence. All of them will tell about Pinocchio’s behavior – the good and the bad. Around the courtroom, the mood was grim as a trial was about to begin.
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How does UNICEF maternity leave compare with EU and OECD countries?
If UNICEF were a rich country instead of my employer, it would rank 24th out of 41 EU and OECD countries in the league table of our new report “Are the world’s richest countries family friendly?” on the indicator of full-rate equivalent childcare leave available to female staff...
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Responding to screen time concerns: A children’s rights approach
Over the past decade there has been escalating concern that the time children spend using digital technology might be harmful. Calls have been made to protect children by restricting the amount of time they spend in front of digital screens. But recently there has been a change in tune, following research showing that the effects of screen time on children may be too small to warrant such restrictions.