More than 6 million children may be at risk as the Atlantic’s strongest storm in years makes its way through Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

249 million children under five are at risk of not reaching developmental potential, implementing low-cost interventions could reverse this trend

UNICEF will need at least $5 million to meet children’s immediate needs, according to preliminary estimates

With every hour that passes more information about destruction and death is coming in. Every report is directly linked to the life and future of children in Haiti. Over the course of yesterday, following the eventually intensifying stream of updates from partners on the ground I felt darkness creeping up on me – until I remembered that we are moving forward towards relief for children on the ground.

Girls between five and 14 years old spend 40 per cent more time, or 160 million more hours a day, on unpaid household chores and collecting water and firewood compared to boys their age, according to a report released by UNICEF ahead of International Day of the Girl on 11 October.

This morning, I left this morning for Les Cayes, one of areas in the south worst affected by Hurricane Matthew. Before we hit the road we visited UNICEF's Warehouse in the capital. It is Sunday but the loading of six trucks was well underway when we arrived as the team started at sunrise.

“The roofs and tree branches flew away. Water started coming in, things were flying everywhere”.

One week after Hurricane Matthew slammed into Haiti, and as schools re-open across the country, more than 100,000 children will be missing out on learning after their schools were either damaged or converted into shelters.

UNICEF deplores yesterday’s attack on the “That al-Netaqeen” primary school in the city of Daraa which killed five school children, aged between four and 16, and left 15 other children injured. The conflict in Syria has plummeted to such lows that children are now risking their lives just to attend school.

The day starts with clean water and concludes with clean water. Together with NGO partner ACTED we visit two of the 25 emergency shelters where some of the families whose homes have been destroyed by Matthew found refuge. An average of 250 to 500 people stay in each location, cohabitating on very little space. Ensuring clean water and appropriate hygiene conditions is more crucial than ever to avoid epidemics.