Pakistan

Save the Children International (SCI) is one of the leading development organizations working in around 120 countries for children on a global scale. We champion the rights and interests of children worldwide, putting the most vulnerable children first. With 25,000 dedicated staff working across the globe, we respond to major emergencies, deliver innovative development programs and ensure children’s voices are heard through campaigning to build a better future for and with children.

Save the Children started working in Pakistan in 1979 after the influx of Afghan refugees and has undertaken sustainable and high-impact development/humanitarian projects for the vulnerable population. Since 1979, we have contributed over USD 900 million and reached over 14 million beneficiaries (children and adults) in Pakistan through Health and Nutrition, Education, Child Protection, Livelihoods, and Humanitarian response programs.

In 2022, Save the Children Pakistan, through USD 16.8 million worth of response and recovery efforts under Floods Response 2022, reached more than 321,478 people, including more than 158,308 children. In order to scale its impact, Save the Children established regional offices in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for swift and quality implementation of the humanitarian response.

Save the Children is currently delivering an extensive response in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan to address the immediate survival needs in worst-hit districts, and is progressing towards recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction to minimize the adverse effects of flooding on Education, Health, Nutrition, WASH, Food Security, and Livelihoods of children, women, and their families.

Our ambition for 2030 is to create a world in which children:

Survive: No child dies from preventable causes before their fifth birthday.

Learn: All children learn from a quality basic education.

Be Protected: Violence against children is no longer tolerated.

Investing in children’s better future is directly impacting the future of the world, and working with Save the Children only makes the statement true to its core. Working as a humanitarian for my entire professional career and more than thirteen years for Save the Children is been a milestone that I have crossed and still looking forward to the amazing work to be achieved for the children of Pakistan.

With this, I want to take this opportunity to thank my entire team in the Country Office Pakistan, which is led by the very committed and enthusiastic senior management, especially in the last four years which have been especially challenging for our country.

With the world adjusting to the new normal, Save the Children's Pakistan Country Office (SC PKCO) made its mission to educate the masses on being vaccinated, getting booster shots, and creating awareness to follow SoPs through our ACTIVATE and Hygiene and Behavioral Change Coalition (HBCC) programmes. SC PKCO also used its platforms to sensitize people to get the right information regarding COVID-19 by dispelling myths and misinformation in the country. Our rigorous informative campaigns launched through social, electronic, and print media,  generated grass-root awareness in the masses and promoted precautionary measures against Covid-19, which in turn helped improve the quality of life of children.

Save the Children Pakistan has expanded its vision to the much-needed environmental projects, such as My Forest Child, educating school children on how they can reduce their carbon footprints through forest regeneration technique. Through this initiative, 15,000 trees were planted by children creating the largest Miyawaki forest in Islamabad.

Additionally, our Red Alert Campaign on climate is running across Asia, including Pakistan, to create awareness and drive action to deal with the climate emergency. It brings together children irrespective of their nationality, religion, caste, or culture to be active participants in saving the planet through a unified call for action.

The unprecedented floods of 2022 wreaked havoc on the vulnerable communities of Pakistan, submerging two-thirds of the country under water and affecting 33 million people. Save the Children stepped up its support to the government and people of Pakistan through mobilizing USD 16.8 million to reach 321, 478 people, including more than 158, 308 children through life-saving relief efforts. Save the Children is currently delivering an extensive response in Sindh, KP, and Balochistan to address the immediate survival needs in the worst-hit districts.  We are now progressing towards the recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction phase to provide a multi-sectoral response in education, health, nutrition, WASH, food security, and livelihoods for children, women, and their families.

We are committed to continuing our consistent efforts to improve the quality of life of the children in Pakistan and further our mission in reaching out to the most vulnerable communities through our work.

I would like to conclude with the famous quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt, “We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future.”

Health and Nutrition: We work with the government and partners to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and child malnutrition by scaling up high-impact interventions, advocating for improved health systems and working on social norms and behavior change.

Food Security & Livelihoods: We work with partners to strengthen resilience and sustainable livelihoods, which includes delivering cash transfers and providing life skills training to young people. We also offer financial services through savings groups and train women and youth on nutrition-sensitive agriculture and production.

Child Protection: We strengthen formal and informal child protection mechanisms to keep children safe from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. We work with parents and caregivers to help them care for their children without violence and we ensure that vulnerable children received the support and protection services they need.

Child rights governance: our interventions, have focused broadly on budget advocacy, international treaty reporting, influencing policies and legislation and supporting the participation of children and young persons in governance matters.

Education: We help young children access early education (both pre-primary and primary), which allows them to develop literacy and numeracy skills through play. We also help out of school children in Dadaab refugee camp access primary education through the Alternative Basic Education centres. We also work with UNICEF and the Ministry of Education to advocate for education reforms, including reforms for education in emergencies.

Adolescents & Youth: We work with adolescents and youth to ensure they realise their rights by giving them a voice and a platform to engage with their leaders.

Humanitarian response: We ensure communities are prepared for disasters, and support emergency relief efforts through the provision of supplies and on-the-ground support.