For decades we have saved and transformed children’s lives by protecting children, setting up medical centres, reuniting families and rebuilding schools. We are often in regions long before crises emerge, and remain there long term to ensure children recover and rebuild their lives.

As 2005 began we were involved in our largest ever emergency operation, to meet the needs of children affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami. Save the Children, active in many of the worst-affected regions for 30 years, moved immediately to deliver life-saving relief. Working with more than 80 local organisations, we provided families with shelter, food, clean water and medical care, reaching 276,000 children and family members in Indonesia alone. This rapid response saved thousands of children’s lives in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India.

More than 3 million people were left homeless when a massive earthquake hit Pakistan and India in October 2005. Thousands of children urgently needed food, shelter and medical attention. Save the Children has been working in Pakistan for almost 30 years and began a large-scale operation within hours. Around 187,000 people across the region benefited from our emergency food supplies. We coordinated health-care services in Bana and Batagram city, Pakistan, to tackle the main health threats faced by children – diarrhoea, pneumonia and tetanus.

Children in El Salvador and Guatemala were hardest hit when hurricanes, floods and a volcanic eruption displaced more than 200,000 people in Central America. In Guatemala Save the Children distributed more than 21 tons of food rations as well as medicines, blankets, toys and diapers. We used our local expertise and long-standing partnerships with regional authorities to assist displaced children in hundreds of shelters.

Erratic rainfall and plagues of locusts in West Africa worsened a critical food situation for millions of children. We saved lives by providing immediate nutritional and medical assistance to children in Mali and Niger. In Southern Africa, we distributed food to tens of thousands of vulnerable families and reinforced the existing community health system for children’s long-term benefit.

In the US Gulf Coast region we helped children recover from trauma following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Save the Children helped restore children’s sense of normality through counselling, educational activities and enabling them to gather and play. We reached all 4,700 school children in Washington Parish, one of the most devastated areas of Louisiana.

Save the Children currently works in over 20 countries experiencing or recovering from emergency situations such as armed conflict and natural disasters. We operate long-term initiatives in these areas, sometimes for decades, to improve outcomes for children. Where possible, we aim to prevent crisis situations and address recurring challenges such as instability and poverty.

By April 2005 we completed our emergency response to the Indian Ocean tsunami, and began long-term reconstruction work. We will continue to support communities affected by the tsunami for at least five years through projects to restore livelihoods, repair infrastructures and help create a normal life for children. Through our work hundreds of thousands of children and their relatives will benefit from education, health care, sanitation, construction and preparation in case of future disasters. We involve children in planning and enable local partners to assist their communities.

We helped children return to school almost immediately after the tsunami by cleaning and repairing schools. Now we are training teachers and in Indonesia we are building the first of 94 new schools to widen access to education. Children’s daily care and nutrition is being improved through training health-care workers and re-establishing clinics. We are building earthquake-resistant permanent homes in Indonesia, incorporating design features suggested by locals. By 2007 we plan to build 3,300 of these homes.

A significant aspect of our ongoing work addresses the psychological effects of the disaster, reaching thousands of children through school-based programmes. In Sri Lanka, around 5,000 children lost one or both parents to the tsunami, leaving them traumatised and vulnerable to exploitation. We set up child protection committees comprising parents, teachers, doctors and others in 60 villages, to identify children at risk. To facilitate the long-term support and monitoring of children’s well-being we gave government agencies specialist training.

Save the Children has significantly improved the outlook for children affected by the tsunami, thanks to contributions of over US$261 million. By the end of 2005 we had spent US$90 million, and the remainder is budgeted until 2009 in support of reconstruction. We use resources wisely and avoid duplication of effort. We aim to ensure that at least 90 percent of donated funds will directly benefit children and their families.