Around the world, childhood is being cut short by conflict, poverty and climate change. Millions of children are missing out on the essentials they need to survive and thrive.
These are complex challenges. But the question of what to do isn’t.
Should children be safe?
Should they be supported?
Should we act when childhood is under threat?
The answer is always yes.
If caring about childhood is yes in principle, it should be yes in practice. Join us, and sign the petition📣
It’s time to choose childhood.
Across the world, children are facing the greatest impact of conflict, climate change and extreme poverty. And as the UK reduces its development budget, it is children who will feel the consequences first, putting millions at risk of missing out on the essentials they need to survive and thrive.
We’ve made progress before. Funding has already saved the lives of around 146 million children under 5 through immunisation programmes, and it has dramatically increased the number of primary school aged children in education.
But that progress is now under threat. With international development spending falling to its lowest level in years, we risk reversing gains that have saved and improved millions of children’s lives.
The impact is clear:
/ Millions of children still die from preventable causes
/ Hundreds of millions are growing up in poverty
/ Education is being disrupted for children living through crisis
These are complex challenges. But the decision to act is not.
If you strip everything back and ask the simplest question: does childhood matter?
The answer is always yes.
That’s why we are urging the UK Government to put its money where childhood is—by choosing to spend at least 25% of the UK international development budget to support and protect children around the world.
That means investing in the services children urgently need—like healthcare, nutrition and education—and working with communities and local and national governments to ensure those services can withstand the growing impacts of climate change.
Because when we invest in childhood, we don’t just protect lives today—we build stronger, more resilient societies for the future.
What are we calling for?
UNICEF UK is calling on the UK Government to prioritise children by allocating at least 25% of the international development budget to essential services, including:
⚕️ Life-saving healthcare
🍎 Nutrition
✏️ Education
Because if caring about children is a yes in principle, it should be a yes in practice.
There is no choice but childhood.
