Save the Children UK

Yesterday, the UK Government announced how they planned to spend the overseas aid budget, which they slashed last year. At precisely the moment children need more support, these decisions will hit the most vulnerable the hardest. Even with a constrained budget, protecting children must remain non-negotiable. We spoke with Claire Sanford, Director of Conflict and Humanitarian at Save the Children, about what UK aid cuts will mean for children and families on the ground and why we must stand shoulder to shoulder with parents across the world. Watch the full interview here: bit.ly/3PuDZf5

"Our staff are telling us the children are sleeping in cars and on the side of roads... they're traumatised and extremely vulnerable to air strikes." Head of conflict and humanitarian advocacy at @savechildrenuk @msominogue tells @BarbaraGSerra that children in Lebanon need urgent support as Israel intensifies its offensive. The conflict has so far displaced one million people across the country. 🌍 trib.al/zff6Z7W

"It's genuinely hard to overstate just how severe the crisis is there." Head of conflict and humanitarian advocacy at @savechildrenuk @msominogue says "children continue to experience extreme violence" in Sudan, and calls the scale of humanitarian need in the country "unimaginable". @BarbaraGSerra | 🌍 trib.al/zff6Z7W #Sudan

The escalating conflict in the Middle East and wider region is having grave ripple effects for children far beyond there. The blockage in the Strait of Hormuz means Save the Children's lifesaving medical aid intended for 410,000 children and their families in Sudan, Yemen and Afghanistan is currently stuck in the Middle East. We are doing what we can to find reroute the aid, but it's costly. Disruptions to key air, sea and land routes mean shipping costs are expected to skyrocket by about 10 to 50% as a result of the fuel price increases. This is coming at a time when governments are cutting vital foreign aid budgets, and families in some of the world’s most fragile places risk losing the support they depend on. We are urgently calling for an immediate end to the violence and for all parties to facilitate the unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief to civilians in need. There should be no barriers to life-saving supplies.

The Government has a responsibility to protect children from the damage of UK aid cuts by prioritising their needs, rights, and futures in every funding decision. At precisely the moment children need more support, these decisions will hit the most vulnerable the hardest. Even with a constrained budget, protecting children must remain non-negotiable. The UK can’t expect countries to stand on their own two feet when they are having the rug pulled from under them.

The Foreign Secretary @YvetteCooperMP has today announced how the UK Government plans to spend the overseas aid budget, which they slashed last year. While we welcome the focus on innovation and move to work more in partnership with countries, the Government's efforts to frame this as a positive story will ring hollow for all the children around the world losing access to lifesaving healthcare, education and protection.

@UN We're being forced to close vital programmes at a time when children need them more than ever. The aid system needs to be updated as global challenges evolve, but cuts cannot be made without considering children for whom aid programmes are a lifeline. 2/2

NEW: Most of the 4.9 million children who died in 2024 could have been saved, according to a new @UN report. This analysis confirms what we’re already seeing- cuts to aid are not just budget decisions, they are death sentences for children. 1/2 theguardian.com/global-develop…

The Guardian has reported targeted attacks on farming communities that experts say were intended to prevent villages producing food. The fields once fed an entire region until they were burnt down. Every single child deserves nutritious food so they can grow and play. For nearly three years, children in Sudan have been facing unimaginable violence and trauma. They're losing childhoods they can never get back. They deserve peace. The UK Government must: - Do everything it can to ensure perpetrators of these horrific crimes are held to account - Dial up pressure on all warring parties and their international backers to secure a lasting political solution - Push for an immediate end to the violence

We are horrified by the news that a drone strike has reportedly killed at least 17 people, most of them schoolgirls, when a drone struck a secondary school and a health care centre. Since the conflict started almost three years ago, it's been reported that drones have been used in over 1,000 attacks, killing civilians including children. Explosive weapons have become a clear threat to children’s survival and wellbeing in conflict. Their impact causes not only immediate death and injury but also lifelong disability, trauma and social exclusion. Children are not part of this conflict, they’re caught in a cycle of violence they never chose. These horrors must not be normalised. The UK Government must do everything it can to ensure the perpetrators of these horrific crimes are held to account, and push for an immediate end to the violence. #KeepEyesOnSudan

The Sudan conflict has left millions of children without basic healthcare. The collapse of crucial vaccination and health outreach has meant disease outbreaks such as cholera and malaria have become deadly, with one in six children completely unprotected. Save the Children and @gavi are working together to deliver vaccinations and lifesaving healthcare to hundreds of remote villages right across the country. This is a key example of Gavi's reform agenda, the Gavi Leap, building partnerships that can reach the world's most vulnerable children in the toughest settings with lifesaving vaccines. In the first three months of 2025 we vaccinated 21,000 children who have never received a vaccine before. But more still needs to be done. Please donate today to help fund programmes like this: bit.ly/42ppiwG Children in Sudan deserve to live.

In the ten days since the first strikes in the Middle East and wider region, almost 300 children were killed. That's the equivalent to 10 classrooms full of children. These are not just numbers – these are young lives cut short. Airstrikes and forced displacement orders are forcing families to flee in huge numbers. Over 700,000 people have reportedly been displaced in Lebanon, stripping children of almost everything that keeps them safe – their homes, their schools, their communities and the routines that bring stability to their lives. Every war is a war on children, and once again we are seeing them pay the highest price for a conflict they neither started nor had a say in. Wars have laws, and children must be off limits in every conflict. #StopTheWarOnChildren

❗ Keep eyes on Sudan ❗ After nearly three years of war, Sudan has reached devastating levels of suffering. Without international attention and action, millions will continue to face escalating violence, extreme hunger, disease outbreaks and displacement. We’ve teamed up with 12 UK charities to launch a petition demanding the government takes urgent action. Please sign the petition, share with friends and family, and keep eyes on Sudan: bit.ly/4ur84wj

Our panellists spoke beautifully and powerfully about the immense suffering Palestinian children are facing in Gaza at our screening of The Voice of Hind Rajab on Tuesday in London. Thank you to everyone who attended for helping to keep Hind's memory alive, as well as those of the 20,000+ other children in Gaza who have been killed by Israeli forces in the past two and a half years. #HindRajab

At least 100 million children in countries directly impacted by the escalating violence in the Middle East and wider region are facing deepening fear, distress and the risk of physical harm and displacement. Nearly 200 children have been killed in the last five days, the equivalent to more than six classrooms full of children. This includes at least 181 children under the age of 10 in Iran, seven children in Lebanon, three children in Israel and one child in Kuwait. All children are now facing the terrifying prospect of an expansive war on a regional scale. We are urgently calling for an end to the hostilities to protect children from further harm. Until then, the laws of war must be followed. All parties must take urgent measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. Children must be off limits.

Military escalation across the Middle East is having a rising human cost. We’ve joined 13 other aid and rights groups to call for an immediate end to this spiral of violence. Read our statement here: bit.ly/4aPYHhY

The Voice of Hind Rajab documents the final hours of five-year-old Hind Rajab’s life. Hind was killed alongside members of her family after their car was attacked by an Israeli tank, and her death has become a symbol of the horrors Palestinian children face. She was one of more than 20,000 Palestinian children killed in two years of Israeli bombardment in Gaza. But her mother, Wesam, refuses for her daughter to become just a number. "The movie for me isn't just a movie. It gave Hind a sense of existence." We hope that Hind's story, bravery, and voice will continue to be recognised and acknowledged. The film is still showing at some UK cinemas, and on streaming sites. Please watch it and help keep Hind's memory alive, as well as those of the 20,000+ other children in Gaza who have been killed by Israeli forces. #HindRajab

In #Sudan, #hunger is deepening. This community kitchen in Omdurman feeds hundreds of displaced families each day. Fatima*, a mother of four, told me it is a lifeline for her children. Communities are stepping up. The world needs to urgently step up vital international support.

Visiting Khartoum where this conflict began almost three years ago. Despite the destruction, there are fragile signs of hope as families begin to return and rebuild. The international community must do more, urgently, to bring an end to #Sudan’s suffering.

Across the Middle East and wider region, the escalation of violence is having a devastating impact on children. As tensions rise, children’s lives hang in the balance. We urge all parties to abide by international humanitarian law and protect civilians. It must stop. #StopTheWarOnChildren