Humanitarian Response

Sometimes crises strike, sometimes they creep, and sometimes they simmer to a boiling point.

No matter how crisis arrives, children are the most vulnerable.

ChildFund’s goal is that all children are protected from harm during humanitarian crises. We work with communities and local partners to develop locally led solutions that keep children safe, healthy and supported through conflict, disaster and displacement.

Crises shatter the routines, relationships and systems children depend on: Health services collapse, schools close, families are separated. Children affected by conflict, natural disaster and displacement face compounding risks to their health, safety, education and development, and without the right support, the effects can last a lifetime.

Communities are the first responders, the caregivers and the architects of recovery. ChildFund's approach is built on that understanding, aimed at strengthening community systems so they are ready before a crisis happens, resilient when it does, and capable of supporting children all the way through recovery.

Across all three phases — before, during and after — we work with …

• Children and youth, helping them understand the risks they face during crisis and how to prevent them and what to do if they’re harmed, so they can protect themselves and their peers during crisis.
• Families, to identify risks to their children and learn how to protect them, and to support their children’s well-being while also avoiding negative coping skills.
• Community groups and civil society to create emergency preparedness plans, deliver lifesaving aid and child-focused support.
• National systems, to develop and implement child-focused humanitarian preparedness plans at the national and regional levels, in coordination with community systems.