Category: New Zealand Associations and Organisaitons

Source: Save The Children

Credit: Save the Children Ambassador Sir Mo Farah meets Aisha* and her malnourished son Hassan*

• ‘Will my child eat today? Will they even have any water?’ A mother’s plea to Farah
• Olympic champion’s ‘awe’ at battles for survival after 43,000 deaths
• Multimedia content can be downloaded here

HARGEISA, 9 July 2024 – On a journey back to his birthplace, Save the Children ambassador Sir Mo Farah said it was heartbreaking to witness the devastating impact climate change is having on driving up child malnutrition rates in Somaliland. Farah also saw first-hand the vital care that is giving hope to families fighting for their children’s lives.  

The four-time Olympic gold medallist visited Gabiley in Somaliland where he spent his early years, meeting mothers and their children who were receiving treatment at a health centre run by Save the Children. 

There, mothers told him heart-wrenching stories of how recurring droughts and floods caused by climate change had made it difficult to feed their families. This has resulted in dangerously deteriorating health with nearly seven million people – or about 40% of the population – in need of humanitarian assistance.  

At a hospital in Gabiley, Farah, 41, met mothers with severely malnourished children who had travelled long distances to seek treatment. The mothers told Farah that these journeys were tough, with many forced to leave some of their children behind in order to secure care for others.  

Farah said: 

“It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see children in these conditions through no fault of their own. I can’t imagine having to leave any of my children behind to find treatment for another one – it’s an impossible choice. I’m in awe of the strength and determination of these mothers who will do anything for their children in such difficult circumstances.” 

Somalia is at the forefront of the climate crisis. Ranked as the second most vulnerable country to climate change, it has experienced back-to-back crises of increased droughts then flooding over the past few years.  

Prolonged droughts have destroyed crops and livestock, causing extreme food insecurity which, combined with conflict, has forced about 3.8 million people from their homes.   

Five consecutive failed rainy seasons have left four million people in Somalia facing acute food insecurity and almost two million children at risk of acute malnutrition. In 2022, 43,000 excess deaths are estimated to have occurred in Somalia because of the drought – half of which are likely to have been children under five.  

More recently, heavy rains and flash floods have affected 226,000 people in Somalia, two thirds of them children, while thousands of families have lost their livelihoods. 

In a village similar to the one Farah grew up in, he met Sabaad, a Save the Children community health worker who has become a lifeline for families and is creating lasting change for children who need it the most. Sabaad provides care for children in her village, making life-saving treatment easily accessible. Farah gained an insight into the critical nature of that treatment when he saw how she cared for a malnourished six-month-old boy, Hassan*. 

Farah, a father of four, said: 

“The work Sabaad is doing is so important. The community here love her, and I can see why. I spoke to some of the mothers Sabaad helped and they told me that without her, they don’t know if any of their children would be here today. 

“Some families shared with me the daily struggle they face to feed their children. It’s awful to hear that families haven’t eaten for days. Most of them told me they don’t know where their next meal will come from. They just want to put their children first, they’re not even thinking about themselves – they’re thinking, is my child going to eat today? Will they have clean water? Will they even have any water? One of the main reasons this is taking place is because of climate change, which seems to have only become worse over the last few years.” 

Sir Mo Farah has been a Save the Children Ambassador since January 2017. He generously donated £100,000 from the Mo Farah Foundation and helped launch Save the Children’s East Africa Food Crisis Appeal two months later, which raised more than £4.3 million. A dedicated family man of Somali heritage, he has spoken publicly about the drought and how malnutrition has affected children and families across Somalia and the region. Somaliland is a self-declared autonomous region of northwestern Somalia. 

Save the Children calls on the UK government and other high-income countries to take this opportunity to increase their climate funding for lower-income countries like Somalia which are bearing the burden of a crisis they did not create. The charity also urges donors to ensure that services preventing and treating malnutrition are well-funded. 

A UN appeal for US$1.6 billion for Somalia in 2024 is just 20% funded. 

Save the Children has worked in Somalia for more than 70 years and is a national and international leader in humanitarian and development programming in health, nutrition, water hygiene and sanitation, education, child protection and child rights governance. In 2023, Save the Children reached 4.7 million people in Somalia, including more than 2.47 million children. 

To help create a lasting change for children impacted by the climate crisis like those in East Africa, you can donate to Save the Children’s Emergency Fund here.  

 
ENDS  

NOTES TO EDITORS:   

Multimedia content available to download here

*Names changed

Media spokespeople available, please contact: ruby.wright@savethechildren.org

For out of hours (BST) media requests please contact: Save the Children Media Office +44(0)7831 650409, media@savethechildren.org.uk

Source: Save The Children

GAZA, 8 July 2024 – Some women in Gaza are self-inducing labour to avoid giving birth on the move while others are scared to seek vital prenatal care because of fears of bombing and some have lost their lives due to a lack of access to doctors, Save the Children said.

An estimated 50,000 babies have been born in Gaza over nine months of conflict, with many women giving birth in traumatic, unhygienic and undignified conditions without access to basic services [1]. 

Women are facing significant challenges throughout their pregnancies, including a lack of food and clean water, frequent displacement, the traumatic loss of loved ones, and the fear of injury or death. One mother reported to Save the Children that she had not eaten meat for five months of her pregnancy and lost weight in the final months before giving birth. 

Save the Children staff have been supporting pregnant women, newborns, and families at its primary health care centre in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza since May, and have reported horrifying conditions for women giving birth and newborns struggling to survive their first precarious weeks. 

Power blackouts pose extreme risks to critically ill babies, including those in incubators.  

Dr Raghda, a doctor of obstetrics and gynaecology, working for Save the Children in April, said:

“[I was told] we had a pregnant patient, so I immediately examined her and saw she was almost full term. When she was brought into the hospital, she had a weak pulse. Two minutes before I arrived, she’d had a heart attack. We decided to do a c-section to try and save the baby and the mother. I only had gloves, an antiseptic wipe and a knife. The baby was a girl and she was about 33 weeks.

“The mother was a nurse and used to work in Al Shifa hospital. Her bowel was outside of her body and her abdomen was full of blood. She didn’t survive.”

Sharifa Khan, a midwife with Save the Children’s Emergency Health Unit, said in June:

“We’ve seen the continuous stress and misery taking a toll on women, with some making drastic choices such as self-inducing labour using medication out of fear they might lose their babies if they have to flee again for survival. 

“We had one woman who was rushed to the Save the Children supported maternity unit with serious obstetric complications after self-medicating before term. The medication caused her uterus to overstretch and rupture, leading to severe bleeding and a distressed foetus. While the team was able to manage the case, had the mother been delayed by just a few minutes in reaching the maternity unit, the baby’s life could have been lost or the baby could have been born with disabilities due to prolonged lack of circulation. The woman might have lost her life too.

“We had another case of a mother who delivered her child safely and was discharged the following day. However she was back three days later when her baby was lethargic, had a high temperature, was refusing to breastfeed, and had a swollen umbilical cord that was discharging pus. This condition is only common in places with poor hygiene and a lack of clean water. It can be life threatening if untreated as the infection can spread to the bloodstream. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case.”

With the decimation of Gaza’s healthcare system and significant restrictions on the work of aid agencies, pregnant women and new mothers have not had access to the basic health and nutrition requirements as per international standards, said Save the Children. This has caused severe mental and physical harm to many of the mothers and their babies, with some taking extreme measures to try to protect their unborn children.

Rachel Cummings, Save the Children’s Team Leader in Gaza, said:

“The Gaza we see today is no place for a child to be born. We know that prolonged exposure to stress and trauma, coupled with substandard medical facilities, can lead to premature labour and death of newborns.

“It’s an immeasurable political failure that this war has ground on for nine months – the same time it has taken for a mother to survive a full-term pregnancy, or for a baby to learn to crawl. Any woman who has become pregnant during this time will have only known fear, trauma, deprivation, and displacement. Any mother who has given birth will have done so lacking the critical support all women need to deliver safely. And any baby born – who manages to survive these conditions – will only have known war.

“We call for an immediate and definitive ceasefire as the only way to save lives in Gaza and end the relentless, serious violations of children’s rights. There is no alternative.”

Save the Children has been providing essential services and support to Palestinian children since 1953, and are currently working around the clock to provide support to families in Gaza. Save the Children is operating health and nutrition programmes in Gaza, including providing maternal and newborn care, supporting the delivery of babies, training healthcare workers, screening children and adults for malnutrition, and supporting mothers with feeding infants and young children in emergencies.  However, the basic conditions to reach families need to be established by the government of Israel by lifting the siege and facilitating unimpeded humanitarian access across the Gaza Strip and for all parties to halt hostilities.

NOTES: 

• On 13 October 2024, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) estimated there were 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza. Since that time, they have reported a monthly birth rate of 5,522 babies in Gaza, including most recently in May, figures which represent both babies born alive and those which may have passed away prior to birth or died due to birth complications.

Source: Save The Children

GENEVA/LONDON, 7 July 2024 – Three International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are calling again for the immediate and unconditional release of personnel the majority of whom were detained one month ago by authorities in northern Yemen.

CARE International, Oxfam, Save the Children reiterated their concerns about the detention of about 18 members of UN entities and INGOs and many others associated with civil society organisations, national and international NGOs, and other organisations supporting humanitarian activities. 

The whereabouts of the detained staff remain unknown and their organisations have not been able to speak to them.  Some of those detained have pre-existing medical conditions. 

These detentions are unprecedented – not only in Yemen but globally – and directly impede the organisations’ ability to reach 18.2 million people in Yemen who need humanitarian aid and protection which is about half the population and includes 14 million women and children. All the detained staff were working as part of the agencies’ life-saving responses to the country’s humanitarian crisis.

The three INGOs said in a joint statement:

“We again ask the authorities to confirm the whereabouts of our staff, their wellbeing, and to give us immediate access to them. They have been held now for a month.

“International Humanitarian Law requires all parties to armed conflict to respect and protect humanitarian personnel, including against harassment, mistreatment, and unlawful arrest or detention. 

“To get help to millions of Yemenis who are in dire need of assistance, our staff need to be able to carry out their duties safely and without fear of arbitrary arrest, intimidation or violence. 

“Humanitarian organisations and aid workers dedicate their efforts to support the people of Yemen and do so by abiding with humanitarian principles.  The targeting of humanitarian, human rights, and development workers in Yemen must stop. All those detained must be immediately released.” 

CARE International has been present in Yemen since 1992 and operates across 14 governorates, reaching approximately 2.8 million people a year with food security and livelihoods, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), reproductive health, women’s economic empowerment, and education programmes.

Oxfam has been working in Yemen for more than 40 years and maintains an impartial approach to ensure delivery of humanitarian assistance to those most in need including in hard-to-reach areas of the country. Since July 2015, Oxfam has helped more than three million people in nine governorates of Yemen with clean water and sanitation, cash assistance and food vouchers.

Save the Children, an independent and impartial child rights organisation,  has been working Yemen since 1963 and is currently active in 11 governorates, focusing on food security, health, nutrition, child protection, education, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) initiatives. Last year Save the Children reached about 2.3. million people in Yemen.

ENDS

For Media Inquiries please contact:

David Moore, Humanitarian Communications Coordinator, CARE International – Email: dmoore@careinternational.org

Belinda Goldsmith, Director of Global Media Unit, Save the Children International: belinda.goldsmith@savethechildren.org

Jon Slater, Head of Media, Oxfam GB – Email: JSlater@oxfam.org.uk

Source: Save The Children

Source: Save The Children

COPENHAGEN, 2 July 2024: More schools and communities in remote areas around the world will have reliable access to a sustainable and safe water supply under a new partnership between Save the Children and Grundfos, a global leader in advanced pump solutions and water technology.

Save the Children and Grundfos have signed a three-year partnership to improve access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, including toilets and washing facilities for children through innovative water systems like solar powered handpumps.

The partnership combines Denmark-based Grundfos’s expertise in water technology with the humanitarian expertise of the global child rights organisation Save the Children. Grundfos will provide training and materials to support the transition to solar-powered pumps, while Save the Children will identify countries with the potential to move towards solar power and other renewable solutions.

Globally it’s estimated that about 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water and 3.5 billion don’t have access to safely managed sanitation,  United Nations World Water Report 2024.

Children without clean drinking water and basic sanitation are vulnerable to waterborne illnesses such as cholera and typhoid, and diarrhea, which cause about 395,000 deaths annually among children under the age of 5, according to the World Health Organization.

Johanne Schmidt­-Nielsen, CEO at Save the Children Denmark, said:

“Access to clean drinking water is a fundamental right for children and is essential for their health and development. Unfortunately, millions of children around the world have this right violated, leading to serious health consequences. Through this partnership, we are much better equipped to provide clean water for children and their families. By combining our on-the-ground expertise with Grundfos’ technical know-how, we can develop sustainable solutions that not only address immediate needs but also contribute to long-term community resilience.”

The climate crisis is severely impacting access to water, with more frequent extreme weather events, such as droughts, leading to increased water scarcity. Save the Children and Grundfos will collaborate on building climate-resilient water systems in crisis-affected areas.

Anise Sacranie, Water Access Director at Grundfos, said:

“We are proud to contribute to the exceptional work that Save the Children is doing in providing improved water access to disadvantaged and marginalised children and communities. At Grundfos, our ambition is to ensure that millions of people in underserved communities have access to safe, clean water through our solutions. Partnering with Save the Children is an important step in achieving this goal, and I believe that through this collaboration, both organisations will enhance our capability to fulfil our shared vision of sustainable water access.”

Save the Children

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding more than 100 years ago, we’ve changed the lives of more than 1 billion children. Around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children—every day and in times of crisis—transforming their lives and the future we share.

Grundfos

Grundfos pioneers solutions to the world’s water and climate challenges and improves the quality of life for people. As a leading global pump and water solutions company, we promise to respect, protect, and advance the flow of water by providing energy and water efficient solutions and systems for a wide range of applications for water utilities, industries and buildings.

Safewater

SafeWater is a strategic business unit within Grundfos that leads the Grundfos Water Access ambition, aimed at providing access to water for people in need. To achieve this, SafeWater collaborates closely with multi-sector partners, including the world’s leading humanitarian and development aid organisations, banks and financing institutions, investors, and governments, to transform underserved communities through commercially viable and smart water solutions that contribute to a better future for all.

Source: Save The Children

KHARTOUM,  27 June 2024 – The number of children in Sudan facing severe food shortages has almost doubled in six months with about 75% of children now going hungry daily as conflict drives hunger levels to record levels, raising fears of rising child malnutrition, Save the Children said.

Based on drastic new figures from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Partnership – the leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises – Save the Children found 16.4 million children, or three in every four children,  now face “crisis”, “emergency” or “catastrophe” levels of hunger – up from 8.3 million last December [1] [2].

Fourteen months of devastating conflict in Sudan’s crop production areas of Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum and Al Jazirah, rising displacement and severe restrictions on humanitarian access along with a gaping hole in funding have created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. The massive and worsening conflict is upending food systems, killing thousands of farmers, and leaving markets empty.

There is risk of famine in 14 locations across the country, with 755,000 people facing catastrophic levels of hunger, when households cannot meet any basic needs and have exhausted all coping strategies needed to survive, according to the IPC Partnership. Save the Children estimates that 355,605 of these will be children [3].

Lack of adequate food can lead to malnutrition which, without treatment, can have long term implications on children’s health and development, and even kill, Save the Children said.

IPC figures from March showed that in just one displacement camp, almost a quarter of children (23%) were suffering from wasting – the most visible and lethal form of malnutrition [4].

The humanitarian response for Sudan is woefully underfunded, with donors contributing to just 16.8% to a $2.7 billion UN response plan [5]. On the day of a major humanitarian funding conference in Paris earlier this year, Save the Children analysis found that the amount raised for the humanitarian crisis in Sudan in the first 105 days of 2024 was less than a fifth of what was pledged in just two days to rebuild the Notre Dame Cathedral. [6]

Dr. Arif Noor, Save the Children Country Director in Sudan, said:

“These new figures should make our blood run cold. Fourteen months of devastating conflict have turned Sudan’s breadbasket into battlefields. Hundreds of thousands of children who have managed to dodge bullets and bombs are now facing death by starvation and disease.

“Where is the collective outrage – and action – needed to tackle this travesty? It is already too late to prevent mass hunger and malnutrition. But through immediate, co-ordinated action, we can save lives – and history will judge us if we do not.”

Save the Children is calling for an immediate ceasefire and meaningful progress towards a lasting peace agreement. In the meantime, the child rights organisation is pushing for safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to civilians across border routes and fighting lines inside Sudan; the safeguarding of vital infrastructure essential for food systems, such as markets, agricultural land, and storage facilities; and immediate intervention from the international community to fully fund the Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan to save children’s lives.

Save the Children has worked in Sudan since 1983,  and is currently supporting children and their families across Sudan providing health, nutrition, education, child protection and food security and livelihoods support. Save the Children is also supporting refugees from Sudan in Egypt and South Sudan.
 
ENDS

Notes to editor:

The latest findings mark a stark and rapid deterioration of the food security situation compared to the previous IPC update released in December 2023.

– Increase in the number of people in IPC Phase 3 or above from 17.7 million to 25.6 million in June – September 2024, compared to October 2023 – February 2024. This includes:

– Increase in the number of people in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) from 4.9M to 8.5M.
– Surge in the population in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe) from zero to 755,000.

[1] To make this calculation, Save the Children applied UN data on child share of population in Sudan (47.1%) to the IPC Partnership’s figures showing 25.6 million people are facing IPC Phase 3 and above. Save the Children estimates that this amounts to 16,355,605 children, up from 8,336,700 in December.

[2] Under the IPC scale, Phase 3 is a crisis, Phase 4 is an emergency, and Phase 5 is used when the situation is reaching famine-like conditions. 

[3] To make this calculation, Save the Children applied UN data on child share of population in Sudan (47.1%) to the IPC Partnership’s figures

[4] IPC Alert, Sudan, March 2024
  
[5] Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan 2024 | Financial Tracking Service (unocha.org)

[6] While the $2.1 billion committed by international donors at the Paris conference in April is a welcome first step, we must see these commitments turned into action immediately.

For more information please contact: 

Emily Wight, Global Media Manager based in London: Emily.Wight@savethechildren.org; 

Delfhin Mugo, Regional Media Manager for East and Southern Africa based in Nairobi: Delfhin.Mugo@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

Save the Children International launches its inaugural Global Media Awards to celebrate excellence in journalism for child rights. 

LONDON 26 June 2024 –Save the Children has announced the launch of its inaugural Global Media Awards, a prestigious initiative dedicated to honouring exceptional journalism that champions the rights of children around the world. The awards commemorate the centennial anniversary since the League of Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, a milestone achievement spearheaded by Save the Children’s visionary founder, Eglantyne Jebb.

Save the Children’s Global Media Awards 2024 welcomes professional journalists from around the world, inviting those whose storytelling has played a pivotal role in shedding a light on critical issues affecting children, while amplifying their voices and advocating for their rights.  

“Journalism plays such a crucial role in advocating for the rights and well-being of children, while holding those responsible to account,” said Belinda Goldsmith, Director of the Global Media Unit at Save the Children. “As we commemorate 100 years since the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted, we are thrilled to launch Save the Children’s Global Media Awards to recognise the remarkable efforts journalists bravely make to report on issues affecting children while driving positive change.” 

Entries are accepted in all mediums, including print, broadcast (TV, radio, and podcast), photography, and digital (multimedia / data), and must have been published or broadcast for the first time between 31 July 2023 and 1 August 2024. The competition features two distinct categories: Local/Regional Media and International Outlets/Wires, with a winner selected from each category. 

An independent jury of judges will review the shortlisted submissions to decide the winners. Confirmed judges include Caroline Kimeu (The Guardian), Julia Ross-Roy (What in the World podcast, BBC World Service), Marie Segger (The Economist),  Sorin Furcoi (Al Jazeera), Sola Ogundipe (Vanguard Newspaper),  Waad Al-Kateab (Filmmaker), Will Grant (BBC),  and Zyma Islam (The Daily Star).  

The winners of the Save the Children Global Media Awards 2024 will be announced on 20 November, World Children’s Day, and will receive a trophy, a personalised certificate, and an invitation to attend a Save the Children international press trip or programme visit. Additionally, all shortlisted finalists will be awarded personalised certificates in recognition of their outstanding contributions. 

ENDS 

For detailed information on eligibility criteria, rules, and how to enter, journalists are encouraged to visit the Save the Children Global Media Awards website at: www.savemediaawards.com 

About Save the Children: Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organisation for children, working in over 100 countries to ensure children grow up healthy, educated, and safe.   

Contact Information: For media inquiries or further information on Save the Children Global Media Awards, please contact: 

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

Source: Save The Children

GAZA, 25 June 2024 – Nearly the entire population of the Gaza strip, or 96% of the population, are facing acute food shortages, with more than 495,000 people including children facing starvation due to an extreme lack of food, according to figures released today by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). 

Save the Children medical staff have reported about 40 cases of children with severe and life-threatening malnutrition at one of its clinics in just five weeks, with children and adults presenting with symptoms including extremely low weight, fatigue, low blood pressure and other illnesses associated with hunger. 

Over the weekend, one 38-year-old mother arrived at a Save the Children clinic with severe fatigue and muscle wasting. She weighed just 38kg (84 lbs). 

Aid and access to aid is the difference between life and death for people in Gaza right now, said Save the Children, reiterating the need for full unfettered access across the Gaza Strip for aid workers and life-saving supplies to tackle malnutrition. Save the Children and other aid agencies are unable to reach many children and adults facing extreme hunger due to ongoing hostilities and a lack of available services and supplies. 

Rachel Cummings, Save the Children’s Team Leader in Gaza, said:

“We know how to prevent malnutrition, we know how to treat malnutrition, but we aren’t being given the opportunity to do it. Severe and significant aid restrictions and heavy fighting means we can’t run clinics like we normally would, and have done in countless other emergencies before, to save lives.

“The rate of deterioration of the population here is extraordinary. Previously healthy communities are just wasting away. We’re seeing increases in children with diarrhoea, jaundice, respiratory conditions, which are all the illnesses that, when combined with extreme hunger, can kill a child in days.

“In a way it’s very simple. To prevent children dying from starvation and malnutrition, you need to be able to reach them, screen them and treat them. We need access to communities. We need to be providing supplementary feeding for children and pregnant and lactating women to prevent children becoming malnourished in the first place. And families need to have their fundamental rights to clean water, sanitation and healthcare services fulfilled to prevent more children from getting even more sick.”

The figures from the IPC – the global scale to classify food and nutrition crises – also show that some 745,000 children and adults in Gaza face emergency conditions of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4), which is characterised by acute malnutrition and an increasing risk of hunger-related death. The report reveals that without an end to hostilities and immediate improvements in aid access, all children in Gaza are at risk of famine. 

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 34 people, most of whom are children, have already died from severe malnutrition. 

The IPC report also reveals that while people in the north of Gaza have been temporarily brought back from the brink of famine, which had been predicted by the IPC for May, this is only because limited aid was allowed to reach those most in need. By contrast, in the south, the hunger situation has substantially deteriorated following renewed hostilities and decreased aid access. 

Save the Children is operating screening and health programmes in Gaza, including training of nutrition staff, screening children and adults, and the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding practices. However, the basic conditions to reach families need to be established by the government of Israel by lifting the siege and facilitating unimpeded humanitarian access across the Gaza Strip and for all parties to halt hostilities.

Save the Children has been providing essential services and support to Palestinian children since 1953, and are currently working around the clock to get vital supplies to families in Gaza – drinking water, food, hygiene products, mattresses, blankets, learning, shelter kits, toys, and games. We are providing mental health and psychosocial support to children and their families and delivering cash to families to help them to buy essentials. In all sectors, we are collaborating with our Community Engagement Workers, and have provided training in nutrition screening, education, and child protection. They are also supporting recreational activities and are currently assisting our partners in distributions. 

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For further enquiries please contact:

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

PORT-AU-PRINCE, 25 June 2024– Children in Haiti could face new dangers as international security forces deploy this week to tackle the violent armed groups overrunning the country’s capital unless robust child protection measures are in place, said a group of aid agencies.

Save the Children, Plan International and World Vision are concerned that armed groups in Haiti will respond forcefully to the UN-backed Multinational Security Support mission (MSS), putting children at significant new risks of being caught in the crossfire.

Once the MSS land in Haiti, security forces will encounter civilians—including children – as well as children involved with armed groups. With up to half of all armed group members in the country estimated to be children, the risk of child casualties is significant. The aid agencies have also received alarming reports of these groups using children and adolescents in confrontations with the Haitian National Police and are concerned they could again be caught in the crossfire.

The aid agencies are calling on the MSS to prioritize children’s rights and safety by ensuring that the deploying forces have child protection expertise in place and child safeguarding training ahead of their deployment. They also call on the forces to be trained on the prevention of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse to ensure greater protection for girls and women.

Despite the Security Council’s request that the MSS will “ensure the highest standards of transparency and conduct”, the MSS has yet to disclose publicly what training has occurred, their concept of operations, and what rules of engagement, lines of command, oversight and accountability mechanisms it has established. Monitoring the impact of the UNMSS during the next hurricane season is also key.

The aid organisations demand transparency and assurances from the MSS that their forces have adopted robust child protection measures, undergone pre-deployment training on child safeguarding, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and gender-based violence, and have comprehensive plans for continued post-deployment rights training. Moreover, all security forces to be deployed in Haiti must fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law and respect for human rights.

An increasing number of children in Haiti have been driven to join armed groups due to hunger and desperation. These children are victims of child rights violations, and must be treated as children, not as militias.

Children and families in Port-au-Prince have been living in a constant state of fear and danger for months on end. Violence involving armed groups has already jumped by more than 140% this year compared to 2021. [1]

The security force must learn from the failures of past international missions and fully adopt all human rights and safeguarding measures laid out in their Security Council Mandate. Children’s lives depend on it.

ENDS

Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1978, in both urban and rural communities, providing cash so families can buy essentials, and delivering health and nutrition support, and supporting children in schools. 

Notes to Editor:

• [1] Based on an analysis of violent events captured in the ACLED database where at least one of the named actors was a gang, armed group or militia, excluding domestic and foreign government forces.  As of 8 May, there has been an average of 131 such events per month in 2024, compared to 54 in 2021 and 93 last year.   

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For further enquiries please contact:

We can offer spokespeople for this release based in Haiti, including Gaby Brenton, Humanitarian & Partnership Director for Save the Children in Haiti.

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

Photo: Cristina Baussan / Save the Children

Source: Save The Children