Save the Children’s child protection programming directly works with conflict affected most vulnerable children including un-accompanied and separated children, Survivors of S/GBV, and other children at-risk, providing tailored support to address their unique needs and vulnerabilities exacerbated by conflict. As part of our commitment towards upholding and operationalizing Centrality of Protection policy, Save the Children has scaled up its role on monitoring and reporting on grave violations, and been actively participating in the country task force for Monitoring and Reporting at both national and state levels, contributing to community awareness, capacity building of armed forces/groups and advocacy efforts to prevent recruitment and use of children in conflict.
Impact of Conflict
Over 3M school aged children displaced internally (2.6 M displaced Internally & 800,000 ross-border displacement)
Increased protection risks, i.e. early marriage, child labor, recruitment by armed groups, trafficking
Limited Availability/access to Child Protection and Gender Based Violence Services
Shortage of essential goods and survival resources
Grave Violations: Believed to be greatly underreported.
Our Response
Our comprehensive services, include:
We focus on strengthening both formal and non-formal systems, offering case management, structured psychosocial support (PSS) through child-friendly spaces and multi-purpose centers, and life skills training for adolescents.
We provide individual protection assistance and mental health support (MHPSS).
Our preventive actions include community-level child protection (CP) awareness, promoting positive parenting to combat violence against children, and adapting safe family practices.
We strengthen the capacities of key actors and duty-bearers, including children, and conduct evidence-based advocacy for better child outcomes.
Family tracing, reunification efforts, and community-based protection initiatives are prioritized, empowering volunteers and enhancing early warning systems
These initiatives will combine to strengthen the sustainable impact of child protection interventions and the protection of children in meeting children's immediate needs and promoting resilience.
Fourteen-year-old Asim* is from Sudan and wants to be a mechanical engineer who designs cars when he’s older. Drawing is his passion, and he loves designing different kinds of vehicles. Asim fondly remembers his home in Khartoum, where he used to teach his siblings to ride their bikes. One day when Asim’s family was sitting in front of their house for Iftar (when families eat together at the end of a day of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan), their neighbourhood was bombed. Asim and his family were forced to flee Khartoum and now live in a former school with other displaced families. Asim says since the conflict started, he’s had trouble sleeping and that he dreams of fighting and violence. Since the outbreak of fighting in Sudan in April 2023, many children have witnessed things no child should ever see, lost or become separated from loved ones and have been forced to flee their homes. More than 6.7 million people have been newly displaced , often living in dire conditions at their arrival points. It is estimated that more than 12,000 people have been killed as a direct impact of violence. Thousands more have died due to a lack of healthcare and basic supplies. Half of the population, nearly 25 million people, require humanitarian aid, including 13 million children. Following months of violent conflict, the health sector is on the verge of collapse. Health workers, supplies and facilities continue to be targeted. Where health facilities remain open, a lack of medical supplies, including blood bags and oxygen, water, fuel and personnel are severely disrupting services. Save the Children’s support: Save the Children has deployed its Emergency Health Unit to support mobile health teams in White Nile and Al Gezira States to provide essential healthcare services for host communities and displaced children and adults. Services include treatment for diseases, vaccinations, maternal and child healthcare, the management of malnutrition cases and psychosocial support. Asim has received ongoing support from a psychotherapist at a Save the Children mobile clinic. He says the psychotherapist has spent time talking with him and has really helped him. Asim and his family also attend the clinic to receive treatment for other health issues. Mosaab Hassouna / Save the Children
