Our Humanitarian Work

In 2011 Save the Children responded to 53 humanitarian crises, benefiting more than 7.6 million children.

We make sure that children affected by floods, famines, earthquakes and armed conflict get life-saving medical aid, shelter, food and water – fast. We safeguard children and help reunite separated families. And we help children recover from crises by providing emotional support and safe places to learn and play.

We prepare ourselves and at-risk communities, so we can act rapidly and reduce disaster risks for children. After large-scale emergencies such as the Haitian earthquake and Japanese tsunami, we remain on the ground to help children and their families rebuild their lives.

Our latest emergency operations

Around 1 million young children in West Africa are facing starvation. because of crop shortages and rising food prices. We are getting food, water and medicine to the most at-risk children. And we are working with communities and partners to reduce families’ vulnerability to future crises. This kind of action will help prevent the deaths of 250,000 children from malnutrition in East and West Africa each year.

Around 65 percent of the refugees fleeing violence in Syria are under 18. We're scaling up our work to support these vulnerable children. In Lebanon, our child-friendly spaces serve around 1,700 children every day. In Jordan, we are distributing food vouchers to 4,000 refugees.

We prepare children and their communities to reduce the impact of extreme weather. And we have relief supplies ready in vulnerable areas. Typhoon Bolaven recently left 20,000 people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea homeless. We are working with local partners to ensure families have adequate shelter, clean water and sanitation. We are responding to the needs of thousands of children displaced by floods in the Philippines, by distributing household materials and running hygiene promotion sessions to reduce diseases.