Middle East Crisis

Save the Children has worked in the Middle East since 1949, when health services were provided to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Today we support a wide variety of programmes in Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. We aim to improve the lives of children with disabilities, refugee and displaced children and children living in poverty.

The situation is particularly difficult for children and youth, some of whom are fleeing with their families from their homes or are trapped with no freedom of movement and with no access to basic supplies and exposed to physical danger and to traumatic experiences.

Israel

In Israel, Save the Children is working through a local partner to address the psychosocial support needs of children who have witnessed violence and who have been exposed to great risk. Our partner has created and distributed 4,000 household activity kits for children and their families in Nazareth, Haifa and surrounding villages. The kits offer a respite for children and families from the violence, stress and anxiety they experience.

Lebanon

In the summer of 2006 the outbreak of armed hostilities in Lebanon led to a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation. Save the Children began responding to the immediate and urgent needs of children and families affected within 72 hours of the emergency.

Save the Children's emergency and rehabilitation programmes in Lebanon focused on providing children with safe places and making sure that their physical, social and mental needs are addressed. Nearly 13,000 children benefited from the creation of safe spaces where they could play in a secure and supported environment in the months following the outbreak of war. Parents, teachers and volunteers were advised and trained to identify children suffering from stress and to help them cope with their trauma. And, child friendly toys, games, and learning materials were distributed to ensure children have a sense of normalcy.

Today children continue to bear the brunt of warfare. Unexploded bombs, especially in the South are a real and present danger for children.

At least six children have been killed and around 70 injured in explosions caused by such ordnance since the war ended. To address this continuing threat to children's lives, Save the Children has worked with the National De-mining Office and other official bodies to produce mine risk awareness ads for television.

West Bank and Gaza

Save the Children is active in the West Bank and Gaza, addressing the immediate humanitarian and long-term development needs of nearly 300,000 children and adults who are among the Middle East's most marginalised populations. Our experience, the trust we have gained, our capacity to innovate and our expertise in advocacy enable us to respond effectively to the emotional and physical needs of children and the health and income needs of their parents. Save the Children makes every effort to conduct programs even during the worst fighting, travel restrictions and blockades.

Save the Children responds where there is the greatest need for children and where communities do not have the ability to respond. Our work in recent years has been focused on supporting local partners to address the declining quality of education for poor children. We also work to reduce stigma associated with children with disabilities across the region and support children and their parents to voice their concerns and ideas for change at local and international levels. In recent years the unstable conditions have led to an increase in the number of displaced peoples in the region and Save the Children has provided them with emergency education.

More on our response

Fact Sheet: Palestinian Refugee Children
Child Rights Fact Sheet