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Emergencies

HELPING CHILDREN WHEN THEY NEED IT MOST

When children have to flee their home due to a crisis, they might pack their clothes, phone, or favourite toy.

But they can’t pack security, a stable income, a safe place to play or learn, or someone to fight for their rights.

That is what Save the Children is here for. We provide what they can't fit in a bag.

In times of crisis, we are always among the first organisations to deliver life-saving support for children and their families. We partner with local organisations wherever possible to ensure our responses are locally driven, allowing us to build trust and gain access to hard to reach communities.

We stand side by side with children in the world's toughest places. Learn about the 7 ways we're protecting children in crisis in 2024

 

Girls playing, photographed from behind

Afghanistan Emergency
A group of women and children waiting in line to buy water in Baidoa, Somalia

The Horn of Africa Crisis
DRC

Democratic Republic of Congo Crisis
Child runs through rubble after Israel's airstrikes in Gaza

War in Gaza
Sultana, 7, at her house in Cox's Bazar

Rohingya Crisis
Adit*, who fled from Khartoum with her six children, at Joda border point on her way to Transit Centre 2, South Sudan

What is happening in Sudan?
Marah standing in front of a tent on her way to school in Syria.

Türkiye and Syria earthquake
Mariya* with her grab bag in her school shelter in Kyiv

War in Ukraine
Family on their porch in Haiti

Crisis in Haiti
Abeer,6, standing outside her family's tend in Syria

Syria Crisis
Arwa*, 15 months is assessed at the health clinic where she is found to be suffering from malnutrition

Yemen Crisis
A girl inspects the damage to a building a day after an Israeli airstrike in a village in southern Lebanon on March 6, 2024.

Lebanon-Israel Crisis

PROTECTING CHILDREN IN CONFLICT AND NATURAL DISASTERS

Save the Children was founded to protect children caught up in conflict, and we continue this work today. In 2022, we responded to 107 emergencies in 66 countries, reaching 34.4million people including 18.8million children.

In a humanitarian emergency, we provide safe spaces for children so they can feel safe, play and learn. We help children that have been separated from their families, ensuring they are taken care of through safe, secure legal systems, and reunite them with their families, whenever possible. We also provide emergency relief and healthcare, psychosocial support, temporary schools and cash grants to help families rebuild their lives. Together with our local partners, we are ready to mobilise within hours of natural disasters like droughts, earthquakes, or tsunamis, to help families access food, clean water, and shelter.

In humanitarian settings, safeguarding risks diversify and multiply – and affected children and adults are at increased risk of neglect, abuse, and sexual exploitation, including harm perpetrated by NGO workers. You can access our Safeguarding in Emergencies toolkit to find out what we do to prevent and respond to these safeguarding risks.