Category: Children and Wellbeing

Source: Save The Children

Save the Children workers upload water in a van to be distributed to collective centers for displaced families in Kharkiv, Ukraine. More content available here.

KYIV, 21 May 2024 – At least 700 children have been evacuated from border towns in Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region after intensified fighting displaced thousands, many of whom have been forced to flee multiple times, said Save the Children [1].

At least 30 people have been killed and 87 injured, including four children, since fighting escalated along the Ukraine-Russia border in recent weeks.

More than 16,000 people have been forced from their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with around 10,000 being formally evacuated by local authorities or aid workers [2].

Most evacuees have settled in Kharkiv city, with around 40% requiring accommodation and many moving into temporary shelters known as collective sites [3]. These makeshift dormitories are often overcrowded and lack essential items such as clothing, hygiene products, and medicines, while also posing an increased risk of domestic violence and exploitation.

Safety remains a huge concern for the evacuated families in Kharkiv city. Ukraine’s second largest city – home to around 1.3 million people – has been under relentless bombardment in recent months, with airstrikes on schools, hospitals and residential areas.

Over the weekend, seven people were reportedly killed in a missile strike in a Kharkiv city suburb, and 28 were injured, including an eight-year-old girl. Kharkiv has been a major flashpoint in the war, repeatedly hit since the conflict began, displacing countless families and children multiple times. Due to constant bombardment and electricity cuts, children in Kharkiv city are missing out on education and have impaired access to healthcare. 

Sonia Khush, Save the Children Ukraine Country Director, said:

“This is heartbreaking. Children are being displaced again; families are being forced to abandon their homes again. For many, this has happened multiple times throughout this war. Plunged into uncertainty, they still cannot feel safe, and their only hope is to return home and to be spared from atrocities.

“Children, deprived of their childhood for more than two years now, are suffering the worst of this escalation. Instead of learning and playing peacefully, they find themselves trapped in a cycle of violence and fleeing the horrors of conflict again and again.”

Almost 4 million people, including 946,000 children, are internally displaced across Ukraine, with over 111,500 people living in collective sites, according to the United Nations. At least 14.6 million people – around 40% of Ukraine’s current population – need humanitarian assistance to survive.

Save the Children calls for all parties to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law. Civilians and civilian objects, especially those impacting children such as homes, schools, and hospitals, must be protected from attack all the time.

Save the Children has been working in Ukraine since 2014 and has scaled up operations since the war escalated in February 2022. The organisation is working closely with multiple partners to provide life-saving assistance such as food and water, cash transfers, and safe spaces, to make sure children and families impacted by this crisis have the support they need.

Note to Editors:

[1] According to the Relief Coordination Centre, 274 children were evacuated and registered at the Kharkiv transit centre, and 429 children were registered as self-evacuated on 10-19 May.

[2] OCHA Flash Update: https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-humanitarian-impact-intensified-hostilities-kharkivska-oblast-flash-update-6-last-updated-19-may-2024-enuk

[3] https://suspilne.media/kharkiv/747563-ak-evakujovani-z-pivnoci-regionu-oblastovuutsa-u-gurtozitkah-harkova/

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For further enquiries please contact:

Source: Save The Children

A child watching the village destroyed by recent floods. Atabek khadim/ Save the Children

Afghanistan’s children have endured decades of conflict and suffering. Now, a perfect storm of climate disasters, a severe economic crisis and the collapse of essential services since the US withdrawl from the country are pushing children to the brink.

The recent flash floods and torrential rains have only made matters worse for a country suffering its worst humanitarian crisis in decades. 

{cta | A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Afghanistan. Your support is urgently needed. | https://donate.savethechildren.org/en/donate/donate-child-emergency-fund| Donate now}

What has happened?

Flash floods in Northern Afghanistan have killed at least 200 people and left about 40,000 children homeless.

Water tore through villages, sweeping away homes and killing livestock. Children have lost everything.

Children and their families are now living under trees or in the ruins of their homes.

12-year-old Firoza* was at home with her sisters and nieces when she heard thunder – and then the sound of water rushing down the hill above her. She said: 

“I wanted to climb up the hill, but I heard the flood. People shouted to me to come down because a flash flood was coming from the top [of the hill]. If I had not gone inside the house, I would have been taken away by the flood. My sister was just a few steps away from me. I shouted many times, but she did not hear me, and the flood took her away with the two children.” 

Firoza’s 4-year-old niece was one of those children. She was swept away and did not survive. Firoza’s sister was also seriously injured and was airlifted to hospital.

 Firoza*’s house which has been partially damaged in recent flash flood. Ummay Habiba/ Save the Children

How are we responding?

Less than 48 hours after the floods, Save the Children’s ‘clinic on wheels’ was in Baghlan province treating families. The mobile clinic has a medical team, mental health specialists and a mobile child-friendly space. 

Our health teams have so far provided services to 1,758 people. We have also distributed 50,000 litres of drinking water over the last three days and, working with local partners, we have delivered essential items including blankets, children’s clothes and kitchen and hygiene kits.

Save the Children Staff speaking to the locals to assess the impact of the floods and identify their needs. Ummay Habiba / Save the Children

How can you help?

The impacts of these devastating floods are immediate – and long term. Children urgently need clean water and healthcare to ensure that the existing disaster is not made even worse by a disease outbreak. They also need long term mental health support – so many have lost loved ones.

80% of Afghans rely on agriculture for their income but there is no quick fix for the thousands of acres of devastated farmland. There is no easy solution for livelihoods that have yet again been decimated by the effects of the climate crisis. 

With more support from the international donor community, we can together address the immediate and long term impacts of the climate crisis in Afghanistan and help communities to prepare for the impacts of extreme weather.

Donate to our Children’s Emergency Fund to support children living in crisis in Afghanistan.

Source: Save The Children

KABUL, 17 MAY 2024 – Children and their families are living under trees or in the ruins of their homes after a village was nearly entirely destroyed by flash floods that tore through Baghlan province in Northern Afghanistan one week ago, said Save the Children.

The floods that hit Afghanistan have killed at least 200 people – including children – according to the de facto authorities, and left many more homeless.

Burka district in Baghlan province is one of the most severely affected areas, with many people entirely reliant on aid after losing everything. More than 3,100 homes in the province have been destroyed [1], according to the most recent interagency assessments, with the damage to four districts in the province remaining unknown as they are inaccessible by road. This number is also likely to change, with wide variations in the reporting of numbers as rescue operations continue.

12-year-old Firoza* was at home with her sisters and nieces when she heard thunder – and then the sound of water rushing down the hill above her. She said: 

“I wanted to climb up the hill, but I heard the flood. People shouted to me to come down because a flash flood was coming from the top [of the hill]. If I had not gone inside the house, I would have been taken away by the flood. My sister was just a few steps away from me. I shouted many times, but she did not hear me, and the flood took her away with the two children.” 

Firoza’s 4-year-old niece was one of those children. She was swept away and did not survive. Firoza’s sister was also seriously injured and was airlifted to hospital. Firoza said:

“Only about 20 women survived – the others were taken away by the flood. We found my injured niece one or two minutes away from here. A boy rescued her. If that boy had not rescued her, she would have died. His lower back, hands, and feet are injured.” 

“Now, there is no life left for us here. The government only provides us with bread and biscuits, nothing else. We don’t have water – the flood washed away our water storage. We had two gallons of water that is finished now.

“In the past, there were floods, but they were not this severe. This time, it was so severe that people could only try to save themselves, and everything was washed away.

“For the past two or three years, there has been a lack of water and poor harvests. Everything became expensive, leading to hunger – we could not afford food. My father is jobless and old. 

“Before, the village was green and beautiful like heaven. I used to like sitting on the green grass. Now everything is ruined, and when you see it, you feel crazy. You want to put your head in your hands and shout and cry.”

Save the Children is operating a ‘clinic on wheels’ in Baghlan as part of its emergency response programme. The clinic includes male and female doctors, mental health and child protection specialists, as well mobile child friendly spaces. Children in the flood hit areas have little access to clean water, with some reporting stomach problems to our health teams. Our health teams have so far provided services to 1,758 people. We have also distributed 50,000 litres of drinking water over the last three days and, working with local partners, have delivered essential items including blankets, children’s clothes and kitchen and hygiene kits.

Arshad Malik, Country Director for Save the Children in Afghanistan, said:

“The impacts of these devastating floods are immediate – and long term. Children urgently need clean water and health care to ensure that the existing disaster is not made even worse by a disease outbreak. They also need long term mental health support – so many have lost loved ones.

“80% of Afghans rely on agriculture for their income. There is no quick fix for the thousands of acres of devastated farmland. There is no easy solution for livelihoods that have yet again been decimated by the effects of the climate crisis.

“More than half of Afghanistan’s population need humanitarian assistance. With more support from the international donor community, we can together address the immediate and long term impacts of the climate crisis in Afghanistan and help communities to prepare for the impacts of extreme weather.”

Save the Children has been supporting communities and protecting children’s rights across Afghanistan since 1976, including during periods of conflict and natural disasters. We have programmes in nine provinces and work with partners in an additional seven provinces. Since August 2021, we’ve been scaling up our response to support the increasing number of children in need. We deliver health, nutrition, education, child protection, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, and livelihood support.    

ENDS

[1] OCHA report 16 May https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistan-floods-flash-update-2-floods-hit-northeastern-afghanistan-16-may-2024.

*denotes names changed to protect identity.

We have spokespeople available in Afghanistan.

Multimedia content available here

For interview requests and further information, please contact: 

Amy Sawitta Lefevre: amy.lefevre@savethechildren.org +6681317923

Daphnee Cook: Daphnee.cook@savethechildren.org +33745140683

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409    

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements, and location Vlogs. 

Source: Save The Children

MADRID, 14 May 2024 – About20,000 migrants, including more than 1,500 children, arrived in Spain in the first four months of 2024, with 80% headed to the Canary Islands, making it the most heavily used migration route to Europe so far this year, Save the Children said. 

Even though migrant crossings to Spain usually decrease in winter, this year has seen a record number of arrivals, with a 190% increase compared to the same period last year, raising fears that the number will rise significantly over the summer months.

The surge in arrivals can be attributed to political and economic instability, hunger, and the escalating climate crisis, which are driving an increase in migration worldwide. According to the United Nations, 20 million people are forced to flee their homes annually due to extreme weather events, including prolonged droughts, torrential rains, and desertification.

About four in five migrants who arrived in Spain this year – almost 16,000 – travelled to the Canary Islands from West Africa. With the sea route from West Africa to the Canary Islands  highly dangerous,  an average of 16 fatalities per day were recorded in 2023, resulting in over 6,000 lives lost.

Bárbara González del Río, Migration Specialist at Save the Children Spain, said:
“If over 1,500 migrant children have already arrived in Spain this year, we anticipate a significant increase in crossings during the summer months, potentially surpassing last year’s record influx of over 5,100 minors. As long as there is a need in the countries of origin, people will continue to move, and the migratory flow towards Europe will continue to exist.

“With over 5,700 migrant children already under guardianship in the Canary Islands, support systems are overwhelmed. Urgent action is needed from other communities to alleviate this critical situation. The Spanish government and autonomous communities must swiftly find solutions.

“We cannot forget that these children are fleeing conflict, hostile environments, and hunger. Our obligation to the children who arrive in our country is to care for them in a way that is adapted to their needs and to ensure that their rights are guaranteed.”

Save the Children is calling on the government of Spain to prioritise the protection and reception of migrant children by:

• swiftly identifying vulnerable individuals, such as potential trafficking victims
• ensuring unaccompanied minors are evenly disrupted between different communities to avoid overwhelming support systems
• scaling up support systems for unaccompanied migrants to ensure their successful integration into society.

Save the Children Spain works in coordination with other organisations and local administrations to meet the specific needs of migrant children. Save the Children also provides safe places where young migrants who’ve gone through the protection system and have been left without the proper resources to transition to adult life, find a job, learn Spanish and continue studying if they wish to do so.

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

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For further enquiries please contact:

–          Samantha Halyk, Senior Global Media Manager based in London at Samantha.halyk@savethechildren.org

–          Laura Casajus Izquierdo, Communications Specialist based in Spain at laura.casajus@savethechildren.org

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements and location Vlogs.

Source: Save The Children

Tents in crowded al-Mawasi, following the forced relocation of families from Rafah [Save the Children]

GAZA, 13 May 2024– Many Families in Gaza are being forced to flee for the fifth time in seven months while supporting elderly relatives and injured children as Israeli forces issue new relocation orders for northern and southern parts of the Strip, said Save the Children. 

 The UN has said more than 360,000 Palestinians have now fled Rafah to other areas in the Gaza Strip amid ongoing relocation orders.

Israeli bombardment from the air, land, and sea continuing to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip with fighting intensifying. Vital supplies like fuel, medicine, and other aid, are running out in Gaza with the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings closed since 5 May.

The Health Cluster has warned that the immediate resumption of fuel supplies into Gaza is an urgent priority to keep alive what remains of Gaza’s decimated health system, with life-saving health services at a near standstill.

A Save the Children staff member said: 

“This is the fifth time we have been forced to move, following the new relocation orders. We were first displaced from Gaza to Khan Younis, then to different areas in Rafah, and now to Deir Al-Balah. This is destroying us mentally. I have a son with me, and my mother who is 70 years old. Every time we start to get used to a place, we are forced to move again. 

My mother has diabetes and high blood pressure. She’s lacking the medication she needs but we can’t find it anywhere. It feels like we are being killed slowly. Our children are missing out on their life, education, they are experiencing lack of stability, forced displacement, fear. I can’t explain what it feels like living through this for the fifth time. We are paying the price for a war that we have nothing to do with.” 

Medical staff at Save the Children’s Emergency Health Unit in Al-Mawasi have been treating children who have been wounded from airstrikes in the Israeli-designated “humanitarian zones”, such as Deir Al-Balah.  

 Lara*, 2, sustained horrific injuries to her face, torso, and leg during an airstrike in Deir Al-Balah that also killed her aunt – an area that is supposedly part of the safe area where people have been ordered to go. When her family relocated to Al Mawasi shortly after the attack, she was brought to a field hospital where Save the Children is providing healthcare services for children.

Dr John Lawrence, Save the Children’s paediatric surgeon working in the field hospital in Al-Mawasi, said Save the Children’s paediatric surgical team operated on Lara* but need to closely monitor her infected wound:  

“Just after the attack, Lara was transported to a medical facility in Deir Al-Balah where her injuries were treated without anaesthetic. Now she’s here in Al-Mawasi, Lara will be cared for in our paediatric in-patient ward. It’s inconceivable to discharge Lara while she still has open wounds. The dire living conditions in Al-Mawasi and the extreme lack of clean water and sanitation facilities are too risky for children like Lara. 

“Lara always has a family member with her in the hospital and we’re encouraged by the progress she’s making. However, the scars on her face will be a permanent reminder of the unspeakable trauma she has endured.”   

Save the Children’s Country Director in the occupied Palestinian territory Xavier Joubert said:  

“Some families have now been displaced more than five times in seven months. People who have survived the war so far in Gaza are exhausted, depleted, and despairing.   

We were running out of words to describe the scale of horror facing children already in October, and yet here we are, still trying to find a way to describe how atrocious this war is and how badly children are being harmed – physically and mentally. As we’ve said before, there is nothing humanitarian about these “humanitarian” zones and there is nothing safe about these relocation orders. How many times do we have to repeat ourselves before member states act?” 

Save the Children is calling for an immediate, definitive ceasefire to protect the lives of children in Gaza. All crossings into Gaza – the only lifeline for families – must be reopened, and unimpeded humanitarian access guaranteed across the Strip.  All States must pressure the Government of Israel to stop its offensive in Rafah, and they must immediately halt the transfer of weapons, parts, and ammunition to Israel and Palestinian armed groups while there is a risk they are used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law.   

Save the Children has been providing essential services and support to Palestinian children since 1953. Save the Children is taking steps to support and protect its staff and continue helping children and families across Gaza, constantly monitoring the situation in Rafah to see if and when it will continue its operations.  

For further enquiries please contact: 

Randa Ghazy, Regional Media Manager for North Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe: Randa.Ghazy@savethechildren.org; 

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409 

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements, and location Vlogs. 

Source: Save The Children

KABUL, 13 May 2024 –   About 40,000 children have lost their homes in northern Afghanistan after torrential rains and flash floods ripped through villages and swamped farmland, said Save the Children.  

Baghlan is the most severely affected area where the provincial de facto authorities say more than 12,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed, impacting an estimated 80,000 people – at least half of whom are children. So far 154 people have been confirmed dead, according to the de facto authorities in Baghlan, but this number is likely to change, with wide variations in the reporting of the numbers killed and injured as rescue operations continue. 

Save the Children visited one village in Baghlan where 19 children died, including five from one family. One man described being trapped under a collapsed wall and being unable to stop his neighbour and her 2-month-old baby being swept away by the fast flowing water. About 250 houses in the village were completely destroyed in less than two hours by the force of the rain and floods.  

Azra*, 13, was at home with her family when the storm started:  

“All of a sudden, the water started to rise above our boundary [wall]. We moved to the rooftop quickly as it [the water] was quite high. People from the nighbourhood were crying for help and running to safer places with their lives, but many people died. Our neighbourhood lost five members of their family. It was a horrible experience. I am still scared that the flood might hit again.”

Save the Children is operating a ‘clinic on wheels’ in Baghlan as part of its emergency response programme. The clinic includes male and female doctors, mental health and child protection specialists, as well mobile child friendly spaces. Children in the flood hit areas have little access to clean water, with some reporting stomach problems to our health teams.  

Arshad Malik, Country Director for Save the Children in Afghanistan, said:  

“Children are scared. Many have lost everything – not only their homes, but their schools and the places where they play. They have lost everything that’s familiar. They have lost all routine. 

Families in Baghlan rely on agriculture for their incomes – and thousands of acres of farmland have been reduced to mud by the torrential waters. Lives and livelihoods will take time to be rebuilt.  

These exceptionally heavy rains and floods are yet another sign of how our climate is changing too fast for families to adapt to it. It is hurting those who are least responsible for the damage – children.  

We are asking the international donor community to address the immediate and long term impacts of the climate crisis in Afghanistan through additional funding to help the country prepare for and cope with the impacts of extreme weather at a community level.” 

Save the Children has been supporting communities and protecting children’s rights across Afghanistan since 1976, including during periods of conflict and natural disasters. We have programmes in nine provinces and work with partners in an additional seven provinces. Since August 2021, we’ve been scaling up our response to support the increasing number of children in need. We deliver health, nutrition, education, child protection, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, and livelihood support. 

*denotes names changed to protect identity.  

We have spokespeople available in Afghanistan. 

Multimedia content available here.

For interview requests and further information, please contact:   

In Kabul: Rachel Thompson, Asia Pacific Regional Media Manager rachel.thompson@savethechildren.org 

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409      

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements, and location Vlogs.     

Source: Save The Children

OUGADOUGOU, 13 May 2024 – The number of children in Burkina Faso facing emergency levels of hunger looks set to surge fivefold to about 210,000 by the middle of this year without an urgent injection of food assistance, said Save the Children.

Insecurity, the approaching lean season between harvests, and rising food prices mean many do not know where their next meal will come from. [1]

Latest figures from the Cadre Harmonisé – a regional framework to identify food and nutrition insecurity in the Sahel and West Africa – show that the number of children facing emergency levels of hunger (defined as IPC Phase 4) will more than quintuple from under 40,000 currently.

The report also forecast that 1.4 million children in Burkina Faso – or one in every seven children – will face at least crisis levels of hunger (defined as IPC Phase 3 and beyond) between June and August, the months between harvests when hunger typically peaks. This is an increase of 500,000 from current levels and includes almost 443,000 children aged under 5. [2]

Under the IPC scale, used by the Cadre Harmonisé framework, Phase 3 is a crisis, Phase 4 is an emergency, and Phase 5 is used when the situation is reaching famine-like conditions.

Almost two-thirds of the 210,000 children projected to be facing emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4) live in the Sahel and Nord regions where ongoing conflict has prevented families from accessing their farms.

Attacks on education have prevented children from going to school where many would have otherwise been able to access a meal. As of the end of March, over 5,300 schools in Burkina Faso were closed due to insecurity.

Malnutrition rates across the country also remain alarmingly high with 480,000 children under five and around 131,500 pregnant and breastfeeding women likely to experience high levels of acute malnutrition, including over 113,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). SAM is a condition that weakens the immune system and exposes children to other diseases – in some cases doing lifelong developmental harm.[3]

Alima*, 18*, who was forced to flee her home, said:

“The food crisis affects everyone, but the sad reality is that it’s children who suffer most. We frequently see children forced to work hard, because their parents are unable to provide for their basic needs, including food. Many young girls and children are given away too early to men in the hope that they will help their households get through the food crisis and poverty in general.

“I’ve seen this kind of case in my neighbourhood. A 14-year-old girl whose parents wanted to give her away in marriage to a rich man who works in a gold mine, in the hope of earning enough to meet the family’s basic needs. Fortunately, their school principal objected. If the principal hadn’t intervened, this girl’s future, and perhaps even her life, would have been over.”

Benoit Delsarte, Save the Children’s Country Director for Burkina Faso, said:

“Around 1.4 million children in Burkina are facing a hunger crisis. About one of five them will face extreme levels of hunger as conflict and climate change drive children and families into a truly dire situation.

“As communities try to cope with rising rates of hunger, rising violence and the negative effects of climate change, children are bearing the brunt on all fronts. Families are resorting to extreme measures like pulling their children out of school, as well as child marriage.

“International donors must urgently step up their support for Burkina Faso to prevent an already dire situation from becoming a between June and September. We also need to see increased action on climate change globally which disproportionately affects children in some of the world’s poorest countries, like Burkina Faso.”

Burkina Faso has been wracked by years of conflict, extreme poverty and rising food insecurity. With temperatures in the Sahel rising 1.5 times faster than the global average, it is also at the forefront of the climate crisis, which is having a disastrous impact on crops, food production and the livelihoods of children and families.

Save the Children has been working in Burkina Faso since 1982, with programmes in child health, education, and protection. We work in eight of the country’s 13 regions and focus on addressing malnutrition and food insecurity, promoting school enrolment, particularly for girls, ending child marriage, keeping children safe, and raising awareness of children’s rights. 

ENDS

[1] The March 2024 Cadre Harmonisé (https://reliefweb.int/report/burkina-faso/burkina-faso-cadre-harmonise-mars-2024-aout-2024) projects that 2.7 million people will face a level of hunger equivalent to IPC Phases 3-5, up from 1.7 million people currently. Among these, 423,000 will be in IPC Phase 4 by lean season up from 76,000 currently. Save the Children has calculated the share of children under 18 in these groups by applying a child share of 49.8% as per UN World Population Prospects estimate. 

[2] March 2024 Cadre Harmonisé

[3] https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1156762/

*Alima was 17 at the time of the interview but has since turned 18. Her name has been changed to protect anonymity.

We have spokespeople available. For further enquiries please contact:

Kunle Olawoyin, Kunle.Olawoyin@savethechildren.org; 

Aisha Majid, Aisha.Majid@savethechildren.org; 

Emily Wight, Emily.Wight@savethechildren.org; 

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements and location Vlogs.