What is conflict & war?
A conflict is a fight between armed troops. War is the hostility towards other parties issued officially by governments/states. Conflicts are part of war, though not every war sees actual conflict, nor is every conflict connected to war.
Conflict/armed conflict: when armed force is used by an organised actor against another organised actor, or against civilians, resulting in at least 25 battle-related deaths in one calendar year. The definition includes three types of conflict:
- State-based conflict takes place between two states (inter-state conflict), or between one state and one or more rebel groups (civil conflict)
- Non-state conflict is fought between two organized, armed actors, of which neither is the government of a state
- One-sided violence is perpetrated by an organized armed group, either a state’s military forces or an armed group, against civilians.
How Save the Children help children affected by conflict & war?
Save the Children was founded to protect children caught up in conflict, and we continue this work today.
In a humanitarian emergency, we provide:
Child protection:
- Setting up Child Friendly Spaces where children can feel safe, play and learn, experience a sense of normality, and recover from distressing experiences
- Helping children that have been separated from their families, ensuring they are taken care of and reunite them with their families, whenever possible
Education:
- Delivering non-formal education and primary education via temporary learning centres
- Rehabilitating or rebuilding schools which have been damaged during the conflict
Health:
- Supporting or running health centres and hospitals and setting up remote outreach posts to ensure that children get the healthcare they need, wherever they are
- Running Mobile Health & Nutrition Teams that provide primary healthcare to remote communities
- Provide essential medical supplies, equipment and medicines, including solar power system equipment and fuel
- Treating moderate cases of malnutrition in the community, and severe cases in specialised stabilisation centres
Food Security & Livelihoods:
- Distributing food parcels
- Distributing cash and food vouchers to empower families to decide how to meet their own needs and feed their families using available local resources
Water, Sanitation & Hygiene:
- Distributing hygiene kits and dignity kits to help children stay healthy and to curb the spread of disease
- Carrying out Water Trucking to ensure that communities have access to clean drinking water
- Constructing water points, emergency latrines, and bathing units, as well as running environmental sanitation activities, such as solid waste and drainage management to reduce the risk of disease outbreak
Shelter:
- Providing winterisation kits, fuel, blankets, and warm clothes to help families stay warm when temperatures drop
- Distributing core relief items such as new arrival kits, shelter kits, hygiene kits, cooking utensils and sleeping materials
How we helped children in DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO affected by conflict
When armed groups attacked Angel’s* village, she fled on foot with her grandchildren, carrying one child on her back and two little girls on her shoulders. After walking for three days, they reached a displacement camp in Ituri province. Having left everything behind, hunger quickly became a major concern. Two months after their arrival, Angel’s husband died from a sudden illness, leaving her to care alone for six children and her granddaughter, 18-month-old Christelle*. “The most difficult and terrifying thing is to live alone with the children. Feeding them every day is the hardest part for me,” said Angel.
When Christelle was just 13 months old, she became severely ill due to malnutrition, suffering from a high fever and losing the ability to walk. Thankfully, she received treatment at a nearby health centre supported by Save the Children, where she was given Plumpy’Nut—a peanut-based paste used to treat severe acute malnutrition. Gradually, Christelle began to regain her strength and was able to take steps again.
