World Day of War Orphans: Date, Theme, History, and Significance

World Day of War Orphans is an annual event observed on 6 January. This day is dedicated to spreading awareness about the children who were orphaned in the wars. International and National governments and other institutions spread awareness about the difficulties faced by those orphan children at physical, social, and mental levels while growing up alone. This has created the need to offer a helping hand to war orphans to lead their lives. Stay tuned and read this article till the end to know more about World Day of War Orphans, its theme, history, and significance!

Also Read: Happy Children Day 2023

When is World Day of War Orphans Celebrated?

It is celebrated on 6 January every year to support the children orphaned in wars. As per an estimate, there are around 140 million orphans in the world. UNICEF reveals that out of those 140 million orphans 52 million are in Africa, 10 million in the Caribbean and Latin America, 7.3 million in Central Asia, and 61 million in Asia. 

Statistics show that orphans are above the age of 5 years in 95 per cent of the cases. Day of War Orphans highlights the traumatic conditions of the children who were affected by the war scene. 

Also Read: List of Top International Organizations and their Functions 

World Day of War Orphans 2024: Theme

The theme for World Day of War Orphans 2024 has not been announced. 

Previous Year theme for War Orphans Day:

Year	Theme
2023	Standing Up for War-Affected Children
2022	“Care for children in a horrible situation is an obligation, especially in the face of a pandemic.”

Also Read: Essay on Child Labour

History of World Day of War Orphans 

This day was founded by the French Organization, SOS Enfants en Detresses. This day was founded to bring attention to the tragic conditions of war-affected children who became orphans and were separated from their parents. Such children have to face different types of issues related to social, mental, and physical levels. 

UNICEF reveals that the number of orphans is larger in war-affected areas and disease-affected areas than in normal regions. Millions of children were left orphaned after World War II in Europe. In Poland and Yugoslavia, the number of orphans is 3,00,000 and 2,00,000 respectively.

This day is dedicated to encouraging people across the world to provide support to affected children. 

Significance

The statistics of UNICEF suggest that most of the victims of the war of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries are civilians. The number of victims kept increasing until 2001. Post 2001, this number declined at a rate of 0.7% per year. 

Here is the list of victims from 1990 to 2015:

Year	Victims
1990	146 million
1995	151 million
2000	155 million
2005	153 million
2010	146 million
2015	140 million

This data reveals that millions of children are grown up in war-affected areas and they have to take care of their younger siblings also despite financial, social, and mental issues. 

Thus, 6 January is the day that highlights the plight of orphans, encourages people around the world to support orphans and spreads the message that every child must be cared for.

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National Consumer Rights Day	International Human Rights Day

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