Emergency response

Our teams are always ready to go

Our specially trained teams can act within 72-hours of a disaster to deliver immediate relief with life-saving supplies and have the capacity to stay on to help children and families recover in the longer term.

Ukraine crisis

Ukrainian children had to flee their homes amid terrifying conflict. We are distributing critical resources to those in need. Through a coordinated effort in neighbouring countries, we are also supporting children and families displaced by the conflict.

Afghanistan crisis

The crisis in Afghanistan is putting children’s lives at risk. We are helping vulnerable children access food, clean water, healthcare, education, shelter and protection and supporting families to rebuild their lives after a period of political turmoil.

Australian climate crisis

Children who experienced the bushfires, floods and COVID-19 pandemic can experience ongoing anxiety impacting mental health, academic progress and emotional wellbeing. Our Journey of Hope program helps them normalise emotions and strengthen positive coping skills and resilience.

Cyclones, climate and COVID-19 crisis

Vulnerable Pacific populations are being battered by more intense and more frequent Tropical Cyclones, rising sea levels and economic impacts of COVID-19. Our livelihoods and resilience programs empower communities to get what they need to keep families safe and healthy.

Learn about the humanitarian emergencies we are supporting right now.

Current emergencies

Food

In crises, children are always the most vulnerable. Without adequate nutritious food, children cannot develop as they should and are at a high risk of acute malnutrition. This can lead to stunting or death, with irreversible damage to a child’s physical and cognitive development.

As well as providing emergency nutrition for severely malnourished children, we prioritise humanitarian cash assistance for families, and lobby the international community to address the root causes of food and nutrition insecurity.

Water, sanitation and hygiene

Without clean water and sanitation facilities, disease spreads quickly in emergency situations, so we provide safe drinking water, repair water supplies and ensure schools are also equipped with basic facilities to support children’s return to learning. In critical situations, we truck water to families and communities who have no other option.

In Yemen, 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.

Emergency healthcare

Save the Children’s Emergency Health Unit delivers rapid, quality public healthcare for children and their families caught up in climate disasters, conflicts and fast-spreading disease outbreaks.

The Emergency Health Unit has four rapid response teams combining health and operational specialists in one team: doctors, nurses, midwives, team leaders, logisticians and water and sanitation experts. They are trained to tackle lethal disease outbreaks, administer life-saving medical care and treat malnourished children. Our teams are fully equipped with mobile clinics, field hospitals, life-saving drugs, and high-energy nutrition supplements.

Psychosocial support

Without support for their mental health, children suffering trauma from being caught up in a brutal conflict zone or living through a devastating disaster can be left with life-long psychological impacts and diminished long-term prospects.

In conflict zones like Yemen, we are on the ground providing children with intensive psychosocial support. And in the aftermath of emergencies such as the 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires in Australia, we continue to work in communities long after the fires have been put out, helping children develop natural resilience through the Journey of Hope program.

Cash transfers

In emergencies, NGOs have an important role to play, but often families themselves know exactly what is needed to get back on their feet. Our Cash Transfer program is transforming aid delivery in the Pacific. Cash transfers and vouchers give families the flexibility they need to help themselves in a dignified way and ensure children and families get exactly what they need during times of crisis, while also keeping local markets and economies functioning.

Education

Emergencies cause serious disruptions to a child's education. It is crucial for their development, safety, and recovery for children to return to learning as soon as possible. In emergency situations, where the education system is unable to function as normal, we establish temporary learning centres and provide safe and protective environments for children to learn and play.

We're currently providing access to education and support to children who've fled conflict in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq as well as Rohingya children living in refugee camps in Bangladesh and supporting children to learn through education programs in Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand.