The Challenge: Across Eastern and Southern Africa, climate shocks, conflict, and economic hardship are pushing families to the brink. 4.2 million children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition — the most life-threatening form. One in three children — 25 million — are living in severe food poverty, without enough nutritious food to grow and survive. Disease outbreaks are spreading rapidly, putting millions more children at risk.
In some communities, critical services are already being forced to shut down. In South Sudan, funding gaps have led to the closure of nutrition centres — leaving hundreds of thousands of children without access to life-saving treatment. Without urgent support, more children could lose access to the care they need to survive.
The Solution: There is a way to save lives. UNICEF teams are working across the region to reach children in the hardest-hit communities. Your support helps deliver life-saving therapeutic food, vaccines, safe water, and protection services to children who need it most.
UNICEF is appealing for US$1 billion to respond to this crisis. But funding gaps are growing — and without urgent support, life-saving programmes may be reduced.
For around $10 a month, you can help provide life-saving care to children in crisis. Together, these monthly gifts help keep vital programmes running — so children can receive the care they need to survive and recover.
Donate now to help save children’s lives.
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Act Now! For a Child in Need
How Your Donation Saves Lives
UNICEF is 100% donor funded. Your contribution is directly scaled into proven, efficient programmes across the region. Even in a constrained environment, we prioritize the most vulnerable children—delivering essential services that protect their health, dignity, and future.
- Nutrition: Treating severe acute malnutrition with ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). In 2025, nearly 900,000 children received treatment for severe wasting.
- Health: Vaccinating children against deadly diseases like measles—12 million children protected in 2025.
- Water & Sanitation: Providing safe water to prevent disease. UNICEF reached approximately 4.4 million people with safe water access.
- Protection: Running programmes for children at risk of violence, exploitation, and abuse—many now at severe risk of closure due to funding gaps.
- Community Prevention: Strengthening local health systems and expanding community-based outreach to stop crises before they escalate.
“If we do not prioritize funding, hard-won gains in child survival, education and health risk being reversed.”
– Etleva Kadilli, UNICEF Regional Director
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Life-Saving Support Is Reaching Children — But It Is At Risk
UNICEF is appealing for US$1 billion to reach 16 million children across Eastern and Southern Africa.
Thanks to donor support, millions of children have already received life-saving care. But funding gaps are growing — and without urgent support, critical services may be reduced in the communities that need them most.
With support from donors like you, UNICEF delivered life-saving results in 2025:
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Without urgent support, programmes like these could be scaled back — putting millions of children at risk.
Your support today can help protect and expand this life-saving work.
Hope Starts with You 🛡️
Make a Lifesaving Donation:
Join us in creating positive change! By donating, you become part of a global community that believes in giving every child the opportunity to reach their full potential. Together, we can transform lives, empower communities, and create a better tomorrow #ForEveryChild.
Got questions? We've got answers:
We don’t currently have offline fundraisers collecting donations for UNICEF.
If you are approached by anyone claiming to be UNICEF, do not give any personal details or transfer funds.
You can support our efforts in helping vulnerable children by donating online on this secure official webpage. In case you have doubts about the authenticity of the page, please contact us at [email protected].
Please do not share any sensitive/banking card information with any individuals who may ask you for this type of information, either online or offline.
You can securely make a one-time and/or a monthly donation, on this page, by clicking on the donation buttons. Please select the donation amount that you want to give, then continue with the next steps to finish your donation.
No donation is too small, and any donation can help save children's lives.
You choose for how long you wish to donate: monthly or only once. In order to contribute to a fundamental change in the lives of vulnerable children, the longer you choose to get involved, the more powerful your donation will be. Vulnerable children’s lives can improve if you are a part of and contribute to the work that we are doing, and to the solutions that we are providing. By donating, you become an active part of the solution and change process.
A monthly donation is a recurring gift amount that you choose to send each month, and it is even more impactful, as this means that you'll be helping children every single day.
Your monthly gift will also enable us to plan effectively in our upcoming work, reduce costs and most importantly, reach even more children in need. The support and generosity of monthly donors contribute significantly to UNICEF's efforts to help vulnerable children.
Your donation is used to support UNICEF's programmes for children in need in Eastern and Southern Africa.
UNICEF encourages monthly donations to help us deliver sustainable, long-term solutions for children both in the region and globally.
Donating online through our UNICEF official websites is just as safe as any other online payment.
We use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption to protect your information and ensure that your donation is secure. Your card and personal data will be safe and secure.
UNICEF does not have access to your bank card details, we will only have access to the contact details you provide in the donation form: name, surname, e-mail and phone number.
Yes, you will receive an automatic "Thank You" email which can be used as a receipt for your donation.
UNICEF does not offer sponsorship of individual children. Instead, your donation goes to help many more of the most vulnerable children in Eastern and Southern Africa. This may include public health emergencies, quality education, ending child poverty, protection against violence and providing safe, clean water.
You can reach out to us by sending an email to [email protected]. We are here to answer any questions or address any concerns you may have.