What is an emergency?
An event becomes an emergency when local families and communities cannot cope or recover from it on their own.
Some emergencies - such as flooding or droughts - happen suddenly. Because of poverty, people are often forced to live in areas more prone to be affected by natural disasters and, because of climate change, some natural disasters are on the increase.
Other emergencies - such as famine and war - build up over time and can be predicted. Some children grow up living in emergencies, as they can last for many years with a state of crisis becoming the norm.
Conflicts can force people to move to somewhere safer with only the possessions that they can carry with them. Save the Children works to protect families' rights to basic services (like water and sanitation) and to make sure that children can get an education wherever they are. We also work to limit the effects of conflict on children and their families.
Children are most at risk
Whenever a disaster strikes, children are particularly vulnerable. In an instant they may lose their home, their community, their security and everything they have. They face multiple threats from violence, disease, malnutrition, trauma and lack of shelter, water, food and education.
Understanding and helping children in an emergency
Understanding and responding to children's basic needs and vulnerabilities are central to our work. Save the Children UK is part of the International Save the Children Alliance, a group of organisations that work in more than 100 countries around the world. Our staff are often already working in countries hit by an emergency and are trained to respond quickly to get immediate help to children and families. We also help in the long-term regeneration of those communities.
