GENEVA — With more than one in 10 of the world’s children living in areas affected by armed conflict, the United Nations children’s agency said Thursday that it is struggling to deal with “a new generation of emergencies.”
Natural disasters, fast-spreading epidemics and conflicts “are stalking children in ways we have never seen before,” Afshan Khan, Unicef’s director of emergency programs, said in a statement accompanying an appeal for financial support.
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She said: “We are increasingly facing a crisis of protection that cuts across national boundaries that is often driven by armed groups and insurgents. I don’t think we’re anywhere near properly resourced for that.”
Competition for donations is severe. In 2014, Unicef raised little more than half the $2 billion it sought from donors, Ms. Khan noted. “We are really stretched this year to reach our targets,” she said.
