Emergency response - Save the Children Australia

Our teams are always ready to go

In an emergency we provide life-saving essentials – food, clean water, healthcare and shelter – and services such as education and protection support for children.

Cyclone Winston

In 2016, Cyclone Winston tore through Fiji. Schools, homes and community infrastructure were destroyed, and lives were lost. We reached 19,725 children from 109 primary and secondary schools, and 52 Early Childhood Education centres.

Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew ravaged Haiti, leaving a trail of death and destruction in townships and a collapsed health system. In record time, three mobile medical teams were on the ground providing medical services to children and families.

Mosul

In Iraq, children living under ISIS control for more than two years risked their lives to flee the city of Mosul. We offered trauma counselling, food and water for those who made it out. We also worked hard to get food, water and support to children still living in the danger zones.

Cyclone Pam

In 2015, one of the largest storms to ever hit the South Pacific made landfall in Vanuatu, causing widespread destruction. We reached more than 63,400 people, including almost 40,000 children, with emergency relief.

Every year, emergencies around the world continue to increase – both in frequency and severity. Learn about the humanitarian emergencies we are supporting right now.

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Food

We provide food to families during crises like famine, flood and conflict. We give high-nutrient peanut paste to help severely malnourished children regain a healthy weight. And, after the first phase of our emergency response – once families have enough food – we distribute seeds, livestock feed and tools so people can start to rebuild their lives.

In South Sudan and Somalia, we're treating severely malnourished children with high-nutrient peanut paste at malnutrition treatment centres. A complex mix of ongoing conflict and drought in this region has hit children the hardest , leaving them exposed to hunger, disease, violence and displacement.

Water

Without clean water, disease spreads quickly in emergency situations so we provide safe drinking water and repair water supplies. In critical situations, we truck water to families and communities who have no other option.

In Yemen in 2017, around 14 million people urgently needed access to safe drinking water and sanitation to stop the spread of cholera and other diseases. We constructed large water access points, and rebuilt public rainwater harvesting systems and small water points that had been destroyed during conflict in two of the worst affected areas of Yemen.

Shelter

In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, we provide temporary shelter to protect children and their families when their homes have been destroyed. After the first critical phase of an emergency response, we help families rebuild safer and more durable shelter for the future.

In Bangladesh, we're providing shelter for thousands of Rohingya families who fled Myanmar. As the seasons change, and rains come, shelter will help protect children and families from the elements and provide some privacy and dignity in challenging and crowded conditions.

Education

More than half of those affected by emergencies each year are children. Crises can severely affect their physical safety and emotional wellbeing. To make sure children get the support and protection they need during emergencies, we set up spaces to give children a place to play, learn and receive emotional support.

When thousands of Rohingya children fled Myanmar into Bangladesh, they had experienced and witnessed unimaginable atrocities against themselves and their loved ones. Save the Children has set up child friendly spaces and temporary learning centres to help these children heal from this trauma, remain safe, access education and have a space to be children amid the sprawling refugee camp.

Reuniting families

We help reunite children with their families when they've been split up during conflict or disasters. Children are at their most vulnerable in an emergency. They are at greater risk of exploitation and violence, and they often miss out on an education. We work hard to identify unaccompanied and separated children, as well as families missing children, so we can bring them back together.

When conflict tore villages apart in South Sudan back in 2013, thousands of children were separated from their parents as they fled the violence. Save the Children have been reuniting children with their families ever since and, in 2017, more than 5,000 girls and boys were reunited with their parents or extended family.

Emergency healthcare

We provide life-saving medicines and emergency healthcare. Our Emergency Health Units are strategically positioned around the world so they can be deployed within 24 hours of an emergency breaking. Within 72 hours, our teams of surgeons, doctors and nurses are on the ground, saving lives.

In Bangladesh, we've built nine health centres to provide urgent healthcare to Rohingya refugees, and to prevent the spread of disease in the crowded refugee camp. Since the crisis unfolded, we’ve provided medical assistance and healthcare to more than 50,000 women, men, girls and boys from the Rohingya community.

Saving lives in emergencies