Children surviving explosions need specialist care for decades
Your monthly gift can fund the expert treatment that helps war-wounded children walk, play, and rebuild their lives.
13-year-old Tamara lives in Taiz, Yemen with her older sister and her mother. She had her leg amputated when a landmine exploded near her house a few months ago.
The crisis children face
When explosions hit cities, children suffer injuries that change their lives forever. Their growing bodies react differently to blast waves - bones stop developing, organs are damaged in ways doctors don't expect.
Without specialist treatment, a child who survives an explosion may never walk properly, never hold a pencil, never hear their teacher.
That's why it’s so important they get support they need.
Children in war: the facts
- Over 60% of child war casualties now come from explosive weapons.
- More than 12,000 children were killed or injured in 2024 - the highest on record.
- There were nearly 50,000 child casualties between 2020 and 2024.
- There are 475 children suffering lifelong disabilities each month in Gaza.
- Globally, an average of 30 children are being killed or injured every day by explosive weapons.
Our teams are seeing children lose a leg before they've even learnt to walk.
Alison Griffin, Head of Mission, Conflict and Humanitarian, Save the Children UK
How we're helping explosion survivors
That's where Save the Children steps in – immediately, and for the long road back.
We deliver life-saving care when children are injured. We support their long-term recovery so children can move, learn and grow. And we demand justice when the rules meant to protect children are broken.
Life-saving emergency care
When explosions happen, our teams respond immediately with:
- Pop-up hospitals and health centres in conflict zones
- Specialist surgeons who understand children's injuries are different
- Emergency supplies - bandages, pain relief, surgical equipment
Children's bodies are still developing. Their flexible chest walls mean blast waves cause internal injuries without external signs. Standard adult treatment protocols don't work. That's why we've created specialist approaches that save lives.
Long-term recovery support
Recovery takes months or years. In our health centres and safe spaces, we provide long-term:
- Physiotherapy to help children move again
- Wheelchairs and mobility aids
- Psychological support to heal trauma
- Help getting back to school
- Mobility aids that grow with children
Every therapy session, every step towards recovery is backed up by people like you – people who refuse to give up on them.
Demanding justice
We don't just treat the symptoms - we fight the cause:
- Campaigning to stop the use of explosive weapons in populated areas
- Training hundreds of local doctors in specialist treatment
- Researching how to improve care for war-wounded children
- Holding governments accountable when they break the rules meant to protect children
A child's body isn't just a smaller version of an adult's - it's still growing and developing. The treatment that works for adults can fail children. That's why we created the world's first research center focused on how to treat war-wounded children properly.
Meet Ali*, 13
Ali, was just 13, playing football with his little brother when the missile hit. In that moment, everything changed. Save the Children supported Ali with acquiring a motorised wheelchair.
"Now I believe things will get better" - Ali
Ali was playing football with his friends when a bomb exploded near him and blew his leg off. His nine-year-old brother, Nour*, suffered spinal injuries resulting in paraplegia. In an instant their lives changed forever.
We're supporting Ali and Nour's recovery in the refugee camp in Sudan where they're now living. We've provided mobility aids including a motorised wheelchair and helped both boys get back to school.
"It has changed my life. Now I can get to school on time and move more easily," Ali says.
His recovery is ongoing. He'll need support as he grows, and our team will be there for him. Your monthly gift means we can make that promise to more children like Ali and Nour - not just emergency care, but the long road back to independence and hope.
Your support matters
Every day, in our pop-up hospitals, health centres and safe spaces, our colleagues see children's extraordinary courage and resilience. But they do need support.
Every bandage, every therapy session, every step towards recovery is backed up by people like you – people who refuse to give up on them.
Why monthly giving? War-wounded children need support for years, not days. Regular gifts allow us to plan long-term care, train more doctors, and be there for the next child who survives an explosion.
11-year-old Ammar* is living with a leg injury in a displacement camp with his family in Syria.
Why our approach is different
For too long, children injured in war have been treated as "mini-adults" - and their distinct needs have been overlooked. We're changing that.
We don't just respond to crises - we study them. Our Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies, launched in partnership with Imperial College London, is the world's first dedicated research center for treating war-wounded children. The protocols we've developed are now used in field hospitals across conflict zones.
What we've learned matters
Children's bodies are still growing. When a blast wave hits:
- Their flexible chest walls allow internal injuries without external signs
- Their developing bones react differently to fractures
- Their organs are still maturing and more vulnerable to damage
"The clinical and anatomical differences between injured children and adults are so distinct that we require completely different responses for each group," says Professor Anthony Bull, co-director of our Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies.
Our Field Manual in action
Our research has been turned into practical guidance used by doctors in:
- Gaza and the West Bank
- Syria
- Ukraine
- Yemen
- Sudan
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- And six more conflict zones
Translated into nine languages, it's helping medical teams understand that children aren't just small adults - they need specialist care to survive and recover.
Wherever conflicts force children from their homes and destroy their lives, our specialist teams are there - in pop-up hospitals, health centres, and safe spaces.
We've trained hundreds of local doctors, provided thousands of wheelchairs and mobility aids, and supported countless children on the long road to recovery.
Your questions answered
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What exactly does "specialist care" mean for war-wounded children?
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Children's bodies aren't just smaller versions of adults - they're still developing. When a child survives an explosion, their growing bones, flexible chest walls, and developing organs react differently. Standard medical protocols designed for adults don't work. Our specialist care means child-specific surgical techniques, rehabilitation programs designed around growth and development, and long-term follow-up as bodies change. We've trained doctors specifically in these approaches across conflict zones.
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How long do children need support after explosion injuries?
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It varies enormously. Some children need intensive care for weeks, then ongoing physiotherapy for months. Others - particularly those who've lost limbs - need new prosthetics as they grow, potentially for decades. Children with hearing damage from blast waves may need support throughout their education. We stay with families as long as they need us.
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Why monthly giving instead of one-time donations?
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Both matter. But monthly gifts are especially valuable because recovery takes years, not days. Regular support means we can plan ahead - train doctors, stock specialist equipment, and commit to being there for a child's entire recovery journey. Monthly givers also reduce our administrative costs, meaning more of your money reaches children.
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How much of my donation reaches children?
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For every £1 you donate, 86p goes directly towards support children. The rest goes on support costs and fundraising activities, so we can help even more children.
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Do you work with local doctors or send teams from the UK?
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We deploy emergency medical teams in the immediate aftermath of escalations. But we also train hundreds of local doctors, nurses, and physiotherapists in child-specific treatment protocols. This means children can access specialist care even after our emergency teams leave. It's more sustainable and reaches more children.
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What happens when conflicts end?
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The injuries don't. Children who survived explosions in Syria years ago still need our support today. When media attention moves on, we stay. Regular gifts ensure we're there for the long recovery, not just the emergency phase.
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Is my donation tax-deductible?
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If you are a UK taxpayer and have paid enough tax in the tax year to cover the amount of gift aid claimed on all of your donations, then you can provide a gift aid declaration.
Gift Aid is a UK government scheme which enables registered charities in the United Kingdom to claim back tax from HMRC on donations made by UK taxpayers, who have provided a gift aid declaration to the charity.
For example, if you donate £1, Save the Children can claim 25p in gift aid, making your donation £1.25, at no extra cost to you.
You can find out more about what gift aid is here.
Help war-wounded children rebuild their lives
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Every child deserves the chance to recover
Right now, a child is lying in a hospital bed, recovering from an explosion they never saw coming.
If you’d like to understand more about what children are facing - and how your support makes a difference - explore our latest updates:
- How war affects children – a simple breakdown of the physical and emotional impact of conflict on children.
- What children in conflict need – the essentials every child should have in war zones.
- How Save the Children is helping in Gaza right now – what is happening and what we are doing.
- Chouchou’s story from the DRC – how one child is healing after a devastating blast injury.
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- Learn more about our work in Gaza, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo
- Download our research
*Names changed to keep children safe.
