Save the Children International

Save the Children International is the global coordinating and operating body of the Save the Children movement, an international child-focused humanitarian and development organization. The movement traces its origins to London in 1919, when Eglantyne Jebb and Dorothy Buxton established the Save the Children Fund to assist children affected by the First World War. Its early relief work demonstrated a defining feature of the organization: combining direct assistance with public advocacy and political pressure on behalf of children. Today, Save the Children International works with national Save the Children members, local organizations, governments, communities and children themselves. Its activities span humanitarian response, health and nutrition, education, child protection, poverty reduction, resilience, child-rights governance and advocacy. In emergencies, programs may include food and cash assistance, water and sanitation, temporary learning, primary healthcare, mental-health and psychosocial support, family tracing, protection from violence and exploitation, and measures to prevent abuse and trafficking. In longer-term programs, the organization supports inclusive education, maternal and child health, nutrition, livelihoods, social protection and community-led resilience. The organization presents its ambition as a world in which every child survives, learns and is protected. Its work is particularly directed toward children affected by conflict, displacement, poverty, discrimination, climate-related disasters and other forms of exclusion. Rather than treating children solely as beneficiaries, its current strategy emphasizes participation, local leadership, evidence, digital tools and advocacy intended to address the causes of rights violations. Campaigning is used to influence governments and international institutions, while fundraising and communications engage the public and support emergency operations. Save the Children International is not a commercial company or a listed financial institution. It is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee and registered as a charity in England and Wales. The international structure includes national members such as Save the Children UK and Save the Children US, with the global body supporting common standards, strategy, advocacy, operational coordination and cross-border response. The organization reports work in more than 100 countries and states that it reached 113.6 million children in 113 countries and responded to 112 emergencies in 2024, according to its published impact material. Its present priorities include children affected by armed conflict and the climate crisis, equality and gender justice, emergency healthcare, education, child protection and shifting power toward children, communities and local actors. In 2022, it also launched Save the Children Global Ventures, an entity intended to explore private-capital and social-enterprise approaches in areas such as education, e-health and climate. The organization continues to combine relief delivery with campaigning, policy engagement and public mobilization, while relying on a mixture of individual donations, institutional grants, government funding, foundation support and member contributions.

Save the Children began in the aftermath of the First World War. In May 1919, Eglantyne Jebb and Dorothy Buxton helped establish the Save the Children Fund in London to provide relief to children suffering from wartime shortages. Jebb’s approach went beyond charitable relief: she argued that children possessed universal rights and that public action should address the political conditions producing hunger, poverty and insecurity. During the early 1920s, the organization undertook prominent relief work connected with famine and displacement in Russia and Turkey. It used fundraising, public communications, films, feeding centers and education initiatives to reach children affected by crisis. Its willingness to negotiate access in difficult political environments helped establish the model of combining field operations with international advocacy. Jebb also contributed to the development of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, adopted by the League of Nations in 1924, which became an important intellectual precursor to later international child-rights instruments. Over subsequent decades, Save the Children expanded from emergency relief into health, nutrition, education, child protection and development programs. National organizations were established in different countries, creating a movement rather than a single centrally managed charity. This structure enabled member organizations to raise funds and operate domestically while collaborating on international programs and shared advocacy. The movement’s work increasingly addressed both immediate survival and the conditions needed for children to learn, remain safe and participate in community life. Save the Children International developed as the global coordinating and operating body for the movement. It works alongside national members and partners to set common priorities, coordinate cross-border responses, support country operations and represent shared positions in international policy discussions. Its legal identity is that of a company limited by guarantee and registered charity in England and Wales, rather than a publicly traded corporation. In the twenty-first century, the organization has responded to conflicts, displacement, epidemics, food insecurity, natural hazards and climate-related emergencies while continuing longer-term development work. Its advocacy has addressed child poverty, education, protection from violence and exploitation, gender inequality, child marriage, humanitarian access and the rights of children affected by war. Campaigning has become increasingly integrated with fundraising, digital engagement, evidence generation and policy work. The organization’s recent strategic direction places particular emphasis on conflict and the climate crisis, while seeking greater equality and gender justice and more power for children, communities and local actors. It has also explored new funding and innovation mechanisms, including Save the Children Global Ventures, announced in 2022. The current model therefore combines direct services, emergency response, partnership, public campaigning and institutional advocacy, with the stated ambition that all children should survive, learn and be protected.

• 2024

  Published global impact figures

  [4]Our impact for childrensavethechildren.net

  Save the Children reported reaching 113.6 million children in 113 countries and responding to 112 emergencies.

• 2022

  Save the Children Global Ventures announced

  [5]Save the Children Global Ventures announcementsavethechildren.net

  A new entity was introduced to explore private capital, technology and social-enterprise models for child-focused impact.

• 2016

  Every Last Child campaign launched

  [7]Every Last Child campaign launcheden.wikipedia.org

  The Save the Children movement launched a campaign focused on children most excluded from services, opportunity and protection.

• 1924

  Child-rights principles gain international recognition

  [6]Save the Children historical overviewen.wikipedia.org

  Eglantyne Jebb’s child-rights work contributed to the League of Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

• 1919

  Save the Children Fund established

  [6]Save the Children historical overviewen.wikipedia.org

  The movement was established in London to provide relief to children affected by postwar hunger and shortages, under the influence of Eglantyne Jebb and Dorothy Buxton.

A global, child-rights-centered humanitarian and development nonprofit combining emergency assistance, long-term programs, advocacy and public campaigning.

• Humanitarian aid · 1919

  Humanitarian emergency response

  Emergency operations support children and families affected by conflict, disasters, displacement and disease. Depending on context, assistance can include food, cash, clean water, sanitation, healthcare, temporary shelter, family tracing, psychosocial support and child-protection services.

• Education

  Education programs

  Education work ranges from early childhood development and basic literacy to inclusive schooling, teacher support and learning in emergencies. Programs are designed to help children continue learning during conflict, displacement, disasters and other disruptions.

• Child protection

  Child protection programs

  Protection programs seek to prevent and respond to violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation, harmful practices and unsafe migration. They may include safeguarding systems, case management, family support, mental-health services and community-based protection mechanisms.

• Health and nutrition

  Health and nutrition programs

  Health and nutrition activities address preventable child deaths, maternal and newborn care, malnutrition, vaccination access, primary healthcare and emergency medical needs. Delivery is often organized with health authorities and local partners.

• 2022Sarah — Climate Crisis

  International fundraising and digital/television advertising

  An integrated direct-response campaign told the story of Sarah, an 11-year-old displaced in Malawi after Cyclone Ana. The campaign used her account to show how climate-related disasters disproportionately affect children in vulnerable communities.

  Outcome. The campaign used television films of different lengths and digital cutdowns to increase public attention and support for climate-focused child protection and emergency work.

  Source
• 2016Every Last Child

  Global movement · examples include India

  A global advocacy, fundraising and programming campaign focused on children who are excluded or overlooked because of poverty, discrimination, conflict, disability, displacement or other barriers.

  Outcome. The campaign became a major movement-wide framework for reaching excluded children; country-level results varied by member and program.

  Source
• Emergency Healthcare Pledge

  Global digital advocacy

  A public campaign urges governments to protect emergency healthcare units and maintain funding so children can receive care during war and disaster.

  Outcome. The campaign remains an ongoing public pledge and advocacy action; the published campaign page records supporter signatures and targets.

  Source

• 2022

  Creation of Save the Children Global VenturesStrategy

  Background

  The organization identified pressure on traditional humanitarian funding from the COVID-19 crisis, conflicts and climate change, alongside interest in technology and impact investment.

  Action taken

  Save the Children announced a separate global-ventures entity to attract private capital and support scalable ventures in education, e-health, climate and related areas.

  Aftermath

  The initiative broadened the movement’s stated funding and innovation model beyond grants and donations, although long-term financial and program results were not established in the supplied sources.

  Source

• 2022-02-03

  Norton Rose Fulbright announces charitable initiative with Save the Children[10]Norton Rose Fulbright 宣布与救助儿童会开展慈善倡议polity.org.za

  Norton Rose Fulbright announced its 2022 Global Charitable Initiative, themed “Building Sustainable Communities,” and said it will partner with Save the Children to improve living conditions for fishing communities on East Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia.

• Unconfirmed

  Baptist Health Corbin and Save the Children partner on a book-giving project[11]Baptist Health Corbin与Save the Children合作开展赠书项目wtvq.com

  Reported: 2021-10-14

  Baptist Health Corbin partnered with Save the Children on a project to give books and community-resource information to families using the hospital’s Labor and Delivery services.

• 2021-01-21

  SC Johnson makes additional donation through Save the Children partnership[12]SC Johnson通过与救助儿童会的合作追加捐款prnewswire.co.uk

  Reported: 2021-01-21

  SC Johnson announced an additional €120,000 donation to help Save the Children address local needs of vulnerable children and families in the UK, Germany, Spain and Switzerland, building on their global partnership.

• 2020-07-12

  OPPO extends fundraising partnership with Save the Children[13]OPPO 延长与 Save the Children 的募款合作ungeek.ph

  Reported: 2020-07-12

  OPPO extended its partnership with Save the Children through a fundraising collaboration for Project ARAL, with a goal of raising PHP 500,000 to provide Basic Learning Kits to more than 500 Filipino students.

1. 1Save the Children International official websitesavethechildren.net
2. 2About Save the Children Internationalsavethechildren.net
3. 3Save the Children International leadershipsavethechildren.net
4. 4Our impact for childrensavethechildren.net
5. 5Save the Children Global Ventures announcementsavethechildren.net
6. 6Save the Children historical overviewen.wikipedia.org
7. 7Every Last Child campaign launcheden.wikipedia.org
8. 8Sarah — Climate Crisissmileycharityfilmawards.com
9. 9Emergency Healthcare Pledgesavethechildren.net
10. 10Norton Rose Fulbright 宣布与救助儿童会开展慈善倡议polity.org.za
11. 11Baptist Health Corbin与Save the Children合作开展赠书项目wtvq.com
12. 12SC Johnson通过与救助儿童会的合作追加捐款prnewswire.co.uk
13. 13OPPO 延长与 Save the Children 的募款合作ungeek.ph