Category: Save The Children

Source: Save The Children

Save the Children staff walking with a girl in a school used as a shelther, South Lebanon [Imad Achkar / Save the Children]

BEIRUT, 26 September 2024 – About 140,000 children have been forced from their homes in southern Lebanon in the past four days, with many arriving at shelters showing signs of severe distress, according to Save the Children staff. 

Over 400,000 people have been displaced since the start of Israeli airstrikes on Sunday in the latest escalation in cross-border violence, with numbers expected to increase in the coming days. 

This brings the total number forced from their homes in Lebanon in nearly a year of cross-border violence to 500,000, or nearly 10% of the population, including 175,000 children. According to media reports, about 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from their homes in northern Israel. 

Latest figures from Lebanon’s Ministry of Health report nearly 600 people have been killed in Lebanon this week, including 50 children, while nearly 1,800 have been injured. 

Save the Children has this week distributed mattresses, blankets, pillows, water and other essential items to nearly 5,000 people in 30 shelters across the country, including in the north, the south, the Bekaa area and Mount Lebanon. 

Save the Children staff have reported growing concern over the psychological impact on children, many of whom are showing signs of severe distress due to the displacement and constant shelling.  

Mahmoud, a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Promotion Technician described the chaotic scenes he witnessed at one of the shelters supported by Save the Children in Beirut. He said: 

“I’ve seen many in tears, completely devastated.  One woman was carrying her child along with several bags. Another woman’s child fell from her arms. The situation was tragic, and simply heartbreaking. People are still arriving, there are families sitting on the floor, waiting to be organised between different rooms. 

There was also an incredible mobilisation by the community, with volunteers showing up to support, bringing pillows, bags, anything they could to help others.” 

All schools in Lebanon have been closed, impacting all of the country’s 1.5 million children, with Lebanon’s already critical mental health crisis worsening as the hostilities continue to escalate.  

Jennifer Moorehead, Save the Children’s Country Director in Lebanon said: 

“Children are telling us that it feels like danger is everywhere, and they can never be safe. Every loud sound makes them jump now. Many children’s lives, rights and futures have already been turned upside down and now their capacity to cope with this escalating crisis has been eroded.   

“It is still possible to avert a humanitarian catastrophe, but we must act now. We urge all parties to immediately de-escalate tensions and for international actors to pressure all parties to comply with international humanitarian law. This must happen now to prevent further suffering for children and their families.” 

Save the Children has been working in Lebanon since 1953. Since October 2023, in response to the escalating cross-border situation, we’ve been scaling up our response in southern Lebanon, supporting children and families displaced by the violence. This includes displaced Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian children and families. Since October 2023, we’ve supported 60,000 people, including 25,000 children with cash, blankets, mattresses and pillows, food parcels, water bottles and kits containing essential hygiene items. 

Note to Editors:

• At least 500,000 people have fled their homes as a result of the increasing insecurities in recent months, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For the week of September 23, around 400,000 people were displaced in a matter of days, including an estimated 140,000 children.   

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 Vlog

Source: Save The Children

PORT-AU-PRINCE, 26 September 2024 – Haiti’s ongoing violence is set to force thousands of children into overcrowded classrooms when schools reopen next week, with some classes expected to double to 80 students while hundreds of schools remain closed, Save the Children said.

The Haitian government delayed the start of the academic year until 1 October due to the ongoing threat from armed groups, which has displaced about 600,000 people this year – or about 5% of the population. Over the past school year, more than 900 schools temporarily closed, affecting about 200,000 children’s access to education. Many of these schools will likely remain closed next week as they are being used as shelters for displaced families.

In Haiti’s South Department, an influx of displaced families fleeing violence in Port-au-Prince has severely strained an already fragile education system. Save the Children’s local partners in Les Cayes report that internally displaced children will push class sizes to upwards of 80 students—more than double the recommended class size.

Maria Rosette, a school director supported by Save the Children’s local partner ProDev, highlighted the challenges of providing quality education in such overcrowded conditions. 

She also noted the psychological impact on displaced students, due to their distressing experiences. Parents and teachers have reported an increase in aggression, withdrawal, and emotional distress among students due to prolonged exposure to armed violence, hunger, and uncertainty. 

“What the children should be receiving in terms of quality education they won’t get  because there are too many students. Children at the back of the class always tend to suffer the most; they get distracted easily. 

“Also, one of the first things I noticed [towards the end of the last academic year] was the mental health and psychosocial support issues that need to be addressed among displaced students. Displaced children witnessed so much when they were in Port-au-Prince, they now suffer from stress and anguish. They are extremely aggressive; they fight and throw rocks at each other – the new arrivals and local children. Many children are not motivated at school. Still, hopefully, as time goes on, they will be more receptive to continuing their education and be able to address and cope with the issues they face.” 

As schools begin to reopen, families still face significant challenges in sending their children back into classrooms. Ongoing violence and soaring inflation have impacted families’ ability to afford basic school supplies for their children. Also, some schools that have been used as shelters require extensive cleanup and repairs before they can fully resume educational activities. 

For children living in areas with active fighting in Port-au-Prince, starting the new school year next week may not be possible, even if schools reopen. The journey to school in armed group-controlled areas poses significant risks, including being caught in the crossfire and the threat of recruitment into these groups.

Chantal Sylvie Imbeault, Save the Children’s Country Director in Haiti, said: 

“The crisis in Haiti is, above all, a children’s crisis. Hundreds of thousands of children have been displaced, robbed of their education, and deeply affected by the violence unfolding before their eyes. 

“In Port-au-Prince, access to education is severely limited due to school closure in areas controlled by armed groups, attacks on schools, displacement, and widespread violence. Many children can’t safely get to school because of the violence surrounding their communities. This means they likely won’t be returning at all to school next week if armed groups continue to wreak havoc across the city.

“A lack of education, overcrowded classrooms, and a growing mental health emergency is threatening to devastate an entire generation—a generation who has already lived through deadly earthquakes, hurricanes, and waves of relentless violence. For many children in Haiti, education is their only hope in an increasingly uncertain world. But that hope is slipping away.”

Save the Children is providing cash assistance for displaced families in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince living in schools-turned-shelters to find more dignified housing solutions while helping to free up schools to resume educational activities. The child rights organisation is also working through local partners in Haiti’s West, Grand’Anse and South departments, including in Les Cayes, to provide access to quality education, and psychosocial support to students who need it, while calling for more funding to provide mental health support for children who have been exposed to violence.

Save the Children is calling on the international community to support the government of Haiti in prioritising the reopening of schools while ensuring displaced families currently sheltering in classrooms can afford safe, alternative shelter, and teachers are paid on time.

Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1978 in both urban and rural communities. It provides cash assistance so families can meet their most urgent needs, delivers health and nutrition support, and supports children´s access to quality education.

ENDS

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For further enquiries please contact:

• Samantha Halyk, Senior Global Media Manager, samantha.halyk@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

•  States to hold perpetrators of crimes against children in conflict to account and ensure adherence to international humanitarian and human rights law.  
• At the upcoming Ministerial Conference to Ending Violence against Children, states should  make concrete, ambitious and funded commitments to protect children and end all forms of violence against them 
• Children’s rights and views to be prioritised in climate policy and financing, including climate loss and damage and adaptation, 
• Leaders to put children’s rights and the Sustainable Development Goals at the centre of policy and financing decisions to create a safer, greener and more sustainable world.  

Source: Save The Children

SYDNEY, 25 Sept 2024 – Over six in 10 children with access to the internet interact with “unknown others” daily despite concerns about online grooming, according to new research released by Save the Children and Western Sydney University that highlighted children’s demands for better online protection.  

The research team held in-depth consultations with about 600 children and young people aged 8 to 18 from Australia, Finland, the Philippines, Cambodia, Colombia, Kenya, and South Africa, who shared their views and experiences of facing inappropriate requests online for personal information or images. 

The report, ‘Protecting Children from Online Grooming’, was written by the Young & Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University, and funded by the global child online safety investment vehicle Safe Online as part of the Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents of online grooming and child sexual and financial exploitation have reached an all-time high [1], with an 82% rise in online grooming crimes against children reported in that period [2]. Online grooming practices have also transformed, with the fastest growing form of online grooming targeting young men for financial extortion [3]. 

The report revealed children were more inclined to connect with strangers – or “unknown others” – online as they matured and became more social, motivated by a desire for friendship, fun and play, followed by a wish to stay informed about trends and events, and to connect over shared interests.  

The findings also showed that while children across all cultures and age groups were more suspicious of people they didn’t know online than people they knew in person, most (66%) of the study participants still interacted with “unknown others” daily online.  

Children in high-income settings were twice as likely to use privacy settings to protect themselves from unwanted contacts, compared to children from some low-income settings, but the potential to derive financial benefits was an incentive for children in middle-income countries to connect with strangers online, potentially compromising their safety.  

While children have come up with numerous ways to protect themselves, they are calling for widespread, accessible and targeted online safety education for themselves and their caregivers. In the discussions the children also made concrete suggestions about how technology platforms and governments can implement changes that will keep them safer online.  

Sonisay*, a girl aged 11-12 from rural Cambodia, said: 

“Adults should know that children interact with strangers, monitor them, and read their chats.”  

Angel* aged 15-17 from a city in the Philippines said: 

“Adults need to know about the children of today who are highly computer-savvy… To be able to support and protect the children, adults need to understand that children are comfortable with using the internet which pushes to interact with strangers.” 

Charlie* aged 14 from Australia emphasised the need to start online safety education earlier: 

 “Having young children educated about the safety of technology and the dangers … adults only start this education for older kids on social media when the problem can be on video games played by young kids.” 

Children reported that it was very difficult to ascertain the intentions of strangers online. Children were also particularly worried about being asked for personal information or nude pictures, being drawn into inappropriate sexually-oriented exchanges, or exposure to criminal activities. 

The report found that children want and need better online protection, with children primarily using intuition and background checks rather than seeking help from trusted adults to manage their online interactions with people they don’t know.  

The data also showed that children distinguish people they know well both online and in person from those they only know online, with 86% approaching the latter with caution. Yet despite this wariness, children were still three times more likely to ignore or decline an inappropriate or unwanted request than they are to report or block it. 

Steve Miller, Save the Children’s Global Director of Child Protection, said: 

“Children deserve to thrive in a safe and nurturing environment – both online and offline. As the digital landscape evolves, so do the challenges and threats, including the threat of online grooming and exploitation. We need to foster a digital environment that is not only safe but also enriching, allowing children to explore, learn, and grow without fear. Policymakers need to listen to the voices and experiences of children when developing policies that protect them.” 

Professor Amanda Third, Co-Director of the Young and Resilient Research Centre, Western Sydney University, said:  

“Keeping children safe from online grooming requires a whole-of-community approach. Governments, NGOs, technology platforms, teachers, parents, caregivers, and children themselves all have an important role to play. However, to most effectively address this issue it is crucial that we listen to the views and experiences of children and young people and engage them as active partners in the research and policy design process. Children and young people are finding their own ways to tackle this issue and devise solutions but they are also calling on us to help equip them and their caregivers with the skills and knowledge needed to be able to safely navigate these rapidly evolving digital environments.” 

Save the Children has launched a major global effort to support digital inclusion and empower the next generation of resilient digital citizens. Save the Children’s Safe Digital Childhood initiative is includes partnering with schools, communities and tech leaders to break down barriers to digital inclusion by making sure the children with the fewest resources can access devices and connectivity; offering targeted digital literacy and citizenship programs; helping technology industry partners embed child-centric safeguards into their platforms; and empowering children to advocate for their rights in the digital world. 

The Young & Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University is an Australian-based, international research centre that unites young people with researchers, practitioners, innovators, and policymakers to explore the role of technology in children’s and young people’s lives and how it can be used to improve individual and community resilience across generations.  

Safe Online is the only global investment vehicle dedicated to keeping children safe in the digital world. Through investing in innovation and bringing key actors together, Safe Online helps shape a digital world that is safe and empowering for all children and young people, everywhere. The Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund, which funded the research, is a groundbreaking collaboration fuelling actionable research and bringing together the tech industry with academia and civil society in a bold alliance to end online child sexual exploitation and abuse. 

*Names have been changed to protect identities 

[1] WeProtect Global Threat Assessment Data 2023 

[2] NSPCC. (2023, August 15). 82% rise in online grooming crimes against children in the last 5 years.

[3] WeProtect’s Global Threat Assessment Data 2023  

Source: Save The Children

2. Khartoum and North Darfur account for 287 (68%) of the 422 political violence events recorded from 17 August to 13 September, and 2,043 (58%) of such events recorded since 1 January. Many violent events in 2024 have also taken place in Al Jazirah state- 625 since 1 January.

For further enquiries please contact: Delfhin Mugo in Nairobi, delfhin.mugo@savethechildren.org 

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

Source: Save The Children

Source: Save The Children

BEIRUT, 23 September 2024 – At least 21 children are among an estimated 270 people killed, and more than 1,000 injured in Israeli strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, with all schools now closing and children terrified, said Save the Children. 

The regional escalation is threatening the lives of more than 345,000 children near the border with families now desperately trying to flee to find safety for their children.  

Jennifer Moorehead, Save the Children Lebanon Country Director said: 

“Our worst nightmare is now becoming a reality. Children in Lebanon have felt the crushing anxiety of a looming war since last October, and in the last few days their lives have been turned upside down, with densely populated neighbourhoods bombed. Today is the deadliest day since last October.  

We’re seeing strikes in dozens of towns, families desperately trying to flee with whatever they can carry, children crying, terrified by the sound of drones and fighter jets above their heads.  Children are telling us that every loud sound makes them jump now. Whenever they hear a door slam or something drop, they get scared and think it’s another sonic boom. It feels like danger is everywhere, and they can never be safe. 

We have staff and partners who have family members stuck in the south, with roads damaged by airstrikes. All schools across the country will be closed from tomorrow, impacting around 1.5 million children, with many schools in major cities and villages now being opened as temporary refugee shelters.  

Many of those fleeing are already vulnerable, including women, children and refugee populations who have been living in displacement for months. This is a major, terrifying escalation but we have to remember that children in the south have been impacted by cross-border violence, living in fear for years. 

Any further escalation of hostilities will mean an unacceptable loss of human life. As always, children will bear the brunt of conflict.  We strongly urge all parties to respect international humanitarian law and to de–escalate this crisis immediately. All parties must protect civilians and focus on diplomatic efforts to bring a lasting peace to all communities in the region.” 

Note to editors: 

• Save the Children has been working in Lebanon since 1953. Save the Children is responding to ongoing needs, particularly for those who have been displaced by the escalation of violence in southern Lebanon. Save the Children has supported 60,000 people, including 24,000 children in collective shelters and host families with cash, clean water, food parcels, learning materials, mental health and psychosocial support, hygiene and cleaning products, mattresses, pillows, blankets to families who fled their homes.

• To calculate the percentage of children who are projected to be affected by cross-border violence, Save the Children used the number of people projected to be affected overall according to the UN, and cross checked it with the UN’s population data. The share of children out of the total population in Lebanon, according to data from the World Population Prospects 2022, Is 32.9%.  32.9% of 1050000 is equal to an approximate number of children totalling 345,450. 

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 Vlog

Source: Save The Children

UNITED NATIONS, 22 September 2024 – World leaders adopting the Pact for the Future at the United Nations today need to put children at the centre of policies and programmes to address issues which affect them such as conflict, the climate crisis and inequality, Save the Children said. 

The Pact and its annexes were adopted by consensus at the opening ceremony of The Summit of the Future. World leaders and decision-makers are meeting from 22-23 September to discuss how to accelerate action on the UN’s Global Goals agreed in 2015 to build a fairer and more equal world.  

The Pact envisions a world where countries work better together to address future challenges, achieve the Global Goals, and strengthen international cooperation on issues like sustainable development, international peace and security, digital innovation, and global governance. 

Inger Ashing, Save the Children International CEO, at The Summit of the Future, said: 

“We very much welcome the adoption of the Pact for the Future. We are glad that world leaders have come together to show that multilateralism can address the challenges facing current and future generations of children. We are cautiously optimistic about the Pact, and hope that the United Nations, members states, civil society and the private sector can work together to deliver on its promises and create real change for children.  

“Now that the Pact has been adopted, it’s critical that world leaders put children’s rights at the centre of policies and programmes, in order to address issues which impact their lives, and create a safer, more equitable and sustainable world. We need all actors to work closely with children to implement the Pact.” 

Save the Children is pleased to see the inclusion of children in the Pact but has been advocating for the document to be more child-sensitive, as the future belongs to them. We consulted with children leading up to the Summit, and they are calling for involvement in decisions that affect their lives. Children have the right to have their views heard in decision-making and have the best insights into what actions are needed to protect their futures. 

 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

Signatories to an open letter to world leaders, spearheaded by parent’s and caregivers’ organisation Our Kids’ Climate, as part of a movement to mobilize parents around the world to take climate action and help protect what we love, include:

• Actors Cobie Smulders, David Morrissey, Dia Mirza, Djimon Hounsou, Emmy Rossum, Halle Bailey, Hend Sabry, Isabelle Carré, Julie Walters, Kevin Bacon, Matthew Rhys, Ray Winstone, Rosario Dawson, Simon Pegg and Steve Buscemi; and film director Fernando Meirelles.
• Musicians Angelique Kidjo and Annie Lennox.
• Author Ian McEwan, and children’s writers and illustrators Axel Scheffler, LeUyen Pham and Malorie Blackman.
• Prominent activists Bill McKibben, Princess Esmeralda of Belgium, Kumi Naidoo, Naomi Klein, Nnimmo Bassey and Tasneem Essop.
• Former UN Climate Chief and architect of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres.
• Mayor of London and C40 Cities Co-Chair, Sadiq Khan, and Mayor of Freetown and C40 Cities Co-Chair, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr.

In an open letter addressed to world leaders, more than 150 notable parents from across the globe are calling for an end to the world’s “dangerous dependence on fossil fuels” ahead of the UN Summit of the Future on 22-23 September.

The letter is released against months of wrangling over whether and how to include a crucial reference to fossil fuels—the primary driver of the climate crisis—in the Summit’s key document, the Pact for the Future.  

The parents’ letter says: “The burning of fossil fuels drives the climate crisis, harming children now and stealing their futures. It is crucial that the Summit makes an unambiguous commitment to a just and fair transition away from fossil fuels.”

The letter has been spearheaded by Our Kids’ Climate, a global network bringing together parents and grandparents from over 55 countries to take action on climate. It is part of an effort taking place during Climate Week NYC supported by Groundswell (Global Optimism), Save the Children International, Potential Energy, C40 Cities, Climate Crisis Advisory Group, WE ARE FAMILY FOUNDATION,  and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, which seeks to harness the power of love-led climate action and share the parents’ letter under the hashtag #ProtectWhatWeLove.

Parents from entertainment, sport, science, religion, civil society, literature and business have added their names to the letter. Further signatories include: actors Alison Steadman, Alysia Reiner, David Lyons, Jessica St. Clair, Krista Kosonen, Lucian Msamati, Piper Perabo and Shabana Azmi, artist Olafur Eliasson; authors Lily Cole, Paul Hawken, Romesh Gunesekera and Sergei Urban; broadcaster Gary Lineker; business leader Paul Polman;  children’s writers and illustrators Beverley Naidoo, Britta Teckentrup, Chris Riddell, Debi Gliori, Jackie Morris, Jim Field, Ken Wilson-Max, Margarita Engle, Michael Rosen, Yuyi Morales and Zillah Bethell;  climate activists Farhana Yamin, Jill Kubit, Lidy Nacpil, Maya Mailer, Omar Elmawi, and Tzeporah Berman;  economists Kate Raworth, Dr. Guido Schmidt-Traub, Dr. Mariana Mazzucato; faith leader Pastor Henrique Vieira; health leaders Dr Maria Neira from the World Health Organization and Rosamund Kissi-Debrah; models Amber Valletta, Arizona Muse and Cameron Russell; scientists Dr Arunabha Ghosh, Sir David King, Dr Fatima Denton, and Michael E. Mann.

The letter was released alongside a powerful video produced by the Potential Energy Coalition, which was informed by the organization’s research that found the number one reason people around the world care about climate change is to protect children and future generations.

Today (Saturday 21 September), on the eve of the Summit, a colorful and family-friendly street action, outside the UN, organized by Climate Families NYC and Our Kids’ Climate will see the letter being read out by parents to coincide with the letter’s release. Parents and children from New York together with climate leader parents from around the world will attend. 

The letter continues: “To be worthy of its name, the Summit of the Future must be a reset moment. We want our children to inherit a world in which they can breathe clean air, enjoy nature, and meet their potential without threat from ever-worsening climate disasters.”

On the eve of the Summit,  the organizations supporting the letter are urging high-income countries and historical emitters to take the lead in driving a just and equitable transition, calling on these nations to provide critical support to low-income countries, ensuring that children’s rights and needs are prioritized at every step.

The public supports robust climate action. According to research, 77% of the global population want their government to do whatever it takes to limit the effects of climate change. Next year, countries must present updated climate plans to the UN. These plans are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to respond to this global mandate for action.

Parents and grandparents across the world are being invited by Our Kids’ Climate to join forces with the eminent parents by signing the open letter themselves.

The letter to world leaders ends: “We, the parents, simply wish for a decent future for our children, and all children. You have the power to protect what we love. For the children of today and tomorrow, we are counting on you.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• For media enquiries on the Our Kids’ Climate letter and signatories contact Rebecca Wynn on rebecca@ourkidsclimate.org  and +44 7779618197 or Cora Bauer on cora.bauer@digacommunications.com  or +447787897467
• Full letter and list of signatories will be hosted here on Our Kids’ Climate’s website when the embargo lifts, and this is also where all parents can add their name to the open letter.  You can read the full letter under embargo here
• A powerful video, created by Potential Energy, about love-led climate action is also being released alongside the letter.  The video can be found here. Protect What You Love is a unifying concept created by Potential Energy, based on global research on what moves people the most on demand for climate action, in partnership with the Yale Climate Communications Center. For media inquiries, contact Caroline Behringer at cbehringer@potentialenergycoalition.org or +31 6 1556 8756.
• Journalists are invited to attend Our Kids’ Climate and NY Climate Families family-friendly street action, where the parents’ letter will be read out. The action will feature colorful props, music, parents and children. It will take place on Saturday, September 21, 10 AM ET.  Please contact Liat Olenick, LiatOlenick@Gmail.com, + 1 917-930-2788. Photos from the action will be made available here.

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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

• World leaders to convene on 22-23 September for the 2024 Summit of the Future in New York to accelerate action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other global challenges. 

NEW YORK, 20 September 2024– Children from rural and poor families are increasingly being left behind in global development, as the world falters towards its achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a new report by Save the Children. The report Racing Against Time reveals that as few as eight countries are making inclusive progress on child marriage – progress which benefits children from rural and poorer families – and only 40 countries are on track to end stunting and other forms of malnutrition. 

There are only six years left until the 2030 deadline to achieve the SDGs, a blueprint of 17 goals with 169 targets agreed by all 193 United Nations (UN) Member States in 2015 to transform the world for the better and leave no one behind. In light of the increasing risk of failure to meet the goals, Save the Children is calling on world leaders to swiftly scale up investment in achieving the SDGs, prioritising social sectors that benefit children and their families as well as policies that put the furthest behind first. 

A delegation led by Save the Children International CEO Inger Ashing and including child campaigners from Zimbabwe and Peru is delivering this message directly to world leaders in New York City attending the 22-23 September Summit of the Future.  

Save the Children’s new report Racing Against Time looks beyond the national averages to demonstrate significant – and often growing – inequalities in many countries around the world. It shows children are still regularly being denied their rights to education, with most countries requiring some or very high levels of effort to reach the ‘quality education’ target, even for primary school completion.  

The report uses the Child Atlas [1] to measure progress on five child-focused SDG indicators: child mortality, hunger, primary school completion, ending child marriage, and birth registration. It found: 

• Only 40 countries are on course to reach the target for ending stunting and other forms of malnutrition. Just 18 of 116 countries, for which we have data, have made inclusive progress to reduce stunting, the most severe form of malnutrition, which damages a child’s growth and development [2]. 

• The rate of progress to reduce under 5 child mortality has been slower for children impacted by inequality and discrimination, with only 9 of 106 countries, for which we have data, making inclusive progress, which includes children from rural and poor backgrounds.  
• Only 8 out of 86 countries, for which we have data, have made inclusive progress on child marriage, which has a devastating impact on childhoods, including adolescent pregnancy, gender-based violence, and leaving school early. 

The report calls for children’s meaningful participation in decisions which will impact their lives. 

Nicole, 17, from Zimbabwe, is attending the Summit of the Future as a child campaigner supported by Save the Children. She said: 

“Child marriage in my community makes me sad and angry, as I feel that children should be children, with time to grow, learn and play, rather than being married with the responsibility of a child of their own. Most of them drop out of school and the opportunity to learn is taken away. Child marriage has such a big impact on children’s lives and not enough is being done to address it.” 

Anai, 16, from Peru, will also be making her voice heard at the Summit of the Future as a child campaigner, supported by Save the Children. Anai is also part of National Movement of Organized Child Workers in Peru (MNNATSOP), she said: 

“Right now, we children and adolescents are living through a crisis affecting all our rights. It’s urgent that we invest in children and address the challenges we face, including the climate crisis and gender inequality. Food security is a pressing issue for many, but people also need access to land so they can grow their own food. These are the issues impacting us, and they could become much worse. The future is now!”    

 Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International, said: 

“It’s completely unacceptable that the world’s most vulnerable children are being excluded from the progress being made towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.  All children have the right to meaningfully participate in decisions which will impact their lives today, and in the future. At the Summit of the Future and beyond, world leaders must listen to the voices of children, and they must recommit to financing and accelerating action to meet the SDGs.”  

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children’s unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.     

Notes 

[1] The Child Atlas is Save the Children’s data platform to visualise, compare, analyse and understand children’s outcomes globally. The organisation has added a function to the Child Atlas that provides information about countries’ progress towards SDGs.  

[2] Save the Children looked at data from 116 countries, focusing on five SDG indicators around child mortality, hunger, primary school completion, ending child marriage, and birth registration. For a country to be considered to have made “inclusive” progress, its progress towards the development goal needs to have closed gaps between children in the following groups: girls compared to boys; children living in rural areas compared to their urban counterparts, and children from the poorest 20% of households compared to the wealthiest 20%.  

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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