Protecting children in crisis, with Catherine Russell | UNICEF Executive Director

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Published Feb 17, 2025

Catherine Russell never forgets the children she meets. As Executive Director of UNICEF, she bears witness to the stories of tens of millions of children and young people suffering around the world, and shares causes for optimism and hope wherever she finds it.

“Children just want to be children. No matter what, the bleakest situation, the most terrible things, they still want to play right? They want to find some joy. They want to just be kids, and I think that's what we have to all work to protect.”

2024 was one of the worst years on record for children in conflict, a devastating statistic that the United Nations is refusing to accept as a deadly new normal. In this episode*, Catherine Russell reflects on the impacts of childhood trauma, the limits of human resilience, and looks back on a childhood spent trick-or-treating for UNICEF.

* Episode recorded in the end of 2024

[00:00] Introduction
[03:01] Witnessing suffering firsthand
[05:50] The challenges of war
[07:10] What keeps Catherine awake at night
[09:43] The crisis in Sudan
[10:46] The horrors of sexual violence
[13:56] Afghan girls’ lost opportunities
[16:38] Advocating against child marriage
[18:22] Vaccinating the world’s children
[20:06] Children in Gaza
[22:35] Empowering boys and girls equally
[26:34] Catherine’s personal journey to public service
[28:24] Catherine’s childhood inspiration and mentors
[32:10] Coping with the job’s challenges
[33:47] Closing remarks

More information: https://www.un.org/en/awake-at-night/s10-catherine-russell-unicef-protecting-children-in-crisis

Listen to more Awake at Night episodes: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoDFQJEq_0b6hu1e8oxsch9W0D7vkNqt
#podcast #unitednations #awakeatnight #UNICEF #children

About Awake at Night
Hosted by Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, the podcast ‘Awake at Night’ is an in-depth interview series focusing on remarkable United Nations staff members who dedicate their career to helping people in parts of the world where they have the hardest lives – from war zones and displacement camps to areas hit by disasters and the devastation of climate change