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Together we can stop hunger

An average of 33 children born into hunger every minute. As conflicts escalate, the climate crisis deepens and global inequality widens, more and more children face the ever-growing threat of hunger.  

A rising tide of war – from Gaza to Ukraine to Sudan – is forcing families from their homes, destroying farmland and essential infrastructure, and creating tens of millions of refugees who struggle to get the food they need. A wave of floods, drought, storms and wildfires – driven by climate change – is devastating crops and livelihoods, leaving children without enough to eat. And economic turmoil is pushing the price of food beyond the reach of many families.

This is a crisis on a vast scale – devastating millions of lives across dozens of countries. Behind the appalling numbers are the stories of individual children. Hunger knows no borders, no boundaries and no limits. It's a force that drains a child's energy, silences their play, and turns their dreams to dust. They should be exploring with their friends or expanding their minds in class. Instead, too many are worrying about when their next meal will be.

We know we can have an incredible impact when we come together to support children in crisis.  Childhood hunger is not a lost cause. But time is running out.

Donate now, and you’ll help us deliver life-saving support to children. We can beat hunger together. 

AISHA'S* STORY

More than 2 million children live in the arid and semi-arid regions of northern and eastern Kenya.

A severe drought crippling northeastern Kenya drove the number of children facing acute malnutrition up by 25% last year to nearly 1 million.

An estimated 942,000 children aged under 5 like baby Aisha* are acutely malnourished and in need of treatment.

When the severe drought struck, Saadia*, from a remote village in North-West Kenya, faced a harsh reality. Her livestock died, and her two-year-old daughter, Aisha, fell ill due to malnutrition.

"In the middle of the night, I was scared. At night, I held her hand," Saadia* recalled. "When my daughter was sick, I thought she would die. I was terrified to see her in such a situation."

Saadia* embarked on a day long journey to the Save the Children-supported Hospital. Once admitted, Aisha* received vital medical attention and nutritious food paste.

Aisha's health improved dramatically. She gained weight, became more energetic, and even took her very first steps in the hospital!

"She was sick before I brought her here, but she's now in good health. The medical supplies she got were effective, and she feels good."

With Aisha now recovered, Saadia* said, "She is happy and healthy! If she is healthy, I can be happy."

Your support helps to keep provide essential care to children in need, bringing smiles and brighter futures to families in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

Donate today to help children like Aisha*

OUR RESPONSE TO THE HUNGER CRISIS

This crisis is a wake-up call for the world. The future of a whole generation of children is at stake. But, hunger is not a lost cause. Malnutrition is treatable and preventable. Low-cost interventions can save children’s lives.  

Save the Children works in over 100 countries. This means with the help of local partners; we can deliver lifesaving nutrition programming and long-term livelihood support on a truly global scale. We’re also working to make sure governments and international institutions tackle the root causes of the hunger crisis. 

These are the 4 steps Save the Children takes to prevent, treat and help children recover from hunger:

Step 1: Save the Children completes a food security analysis to forecast food availability and predict the impact of climate, economic or conflict shocks like El Niño or the conflict in Ukraine.

Step 2: Anticipatory Action means we work with local communities to identify risks and then mitigate them. This reduces the impact, reduces the cost and most importantly, saves lives.

Step 3: When hunger strikes, we are there to screen children for malnutrition, treat them with therapeutic nut pastes, provide medicines and medical care when cases have become complex, complete follow-up assessments for six months, give families food kits and provide families with cash so they can access food and other essential items.

Step 4: Then we go beyond food. We believe in long-term, sustainable solutions to food insecurity. To do this we combine local knowledge of pastoralism, agriculture and the local economy, with our expertise in health, nutrition, forecasting and anticipatory action to provide sustainable solutions to food security and hunger.

All the time: We are working with local communities, international, national and local organisations and governments to stamp out inequality and food insecurity through our policy and advocacy work.

Last year alone we reached over 70 million people with hunger-related interventions, including 37 million children thanks to your support.