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The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international
non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as providing emergency aid in natural disasters, war, and other conflicts. After passing a century, which it celebrated in 2019, it is now a global movement made up of 30 national member organizations that work in 120 countries. Headquartered in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, the organisation promotes policy changes to gain more rights for young people especially by enforcing the UN
Declaration of the Rights of the Child The Declaration of the Rights of the Child, sometimes known as the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, is an international document promoting child rights, drafted by Eglantyne Jebb and adopted by the League of Nations in 1924, and adop ...
. Saving the Children through co-ordinate emergency-relief efforts, helping to protect children from the post effects of war and violence.About Us
. Save the Children.
Save the Children has a general consultative status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council.


Origins

The Save the Children Fund was founded in London, England, on 15 April 1919 by
Eglantyne Jebb Eglantyne Jebb (25 August 1876 – 17 December 1928) was a British social reformer who founded the Save the Children organisation at the end of the First World War to relieve the effects of famine in Austria-Hungary and Germany. She drafted th ...
and her sister Dorothy Buxton as an effort to alleviate starvation of children in Germany and
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
during the Allied
blockade of Germany The Blockade of Germany, or the Blockade of Europe, occurred from 1914 to 1919. The prolonged naval blockade was conducted by the Allies of World War I, Allies during and after World War I in an effort to restrict the maritime supply of goods t ...
of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
which continued after the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
. At the end of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, images of malnourished and sick children ran throughout Europe. The Fight the Famine Council was initially started earlier in 1919 to put political pressure on the British government to end the blockade, the first meeting having been held at the home of
Catherine Courtney Catherine Courtney, Baroness Courtney of Penwith ( Potter; 4 April 1847 – 26 February 1929), known as Kate Courtney, was a British social worker and internationalist. Active in charitable organisations in her early life, she later campaigned w ...
, at 15 Cheyne Walk. However, on 15 April 1919, the sisters succeeded in separating the effort from the politics of the council and creating a separate "Save the Children Fund". In May 1919, the Fund was publicly established at a meeting in London's
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
to "provide relief to children suffering the effects of war" and raise money for emergency aid to children suffering from the wartime shortages of food and supplies. Jebb and her sister worked to gain public sympathy to elicit support aid. In December 1919,
Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...
publicly announced his support for Save the Children, and declared 28 December ' Innocents Day' to collect donations.History
. Save the Children.
The first branch was opened in Fife, Scotland in 1919. A counterpart, Rädda Barnen (which means "Save the Children"), was founded later that year (on 19 November 1919) in Sweden with
Anna Kleman Anna Kleman at the International Congress of Women in 1915 Anna Sofia Kleman (1862–1940) was a Swedish insurance officer and feminist. She is remembered for her work as a women's rights activist and pacifist, especially in regard to voting right ...
on the board." Anna Kleman – med engagemang i kvinnofrågor och fredsarbete"
Läst 15 januari 2018.
Along with a number of other organisations, they founded the
International Save the Children Union The International Save the Children Union (french: L’Union Internationale de Secours aux Enfants) was a Geneva-based international organisation of children's welfare organisations founded in 1920 by Eglantyne Jebb and her sister Dorothy Buxton, wh ...
in Geneva on 6 January 1920. Jebb built up excellent relationships with other Geneva-based organisations, including the
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
who supported Save's International foundation. Jebb used many ground-breaking fund-raising techniques, for example making Save the Children the first charity in the United Kingdom to use page-length advertisements in newspapers. Jebb contracted doctors, lawyers and other professionals to devise mass advertisement campaigns. In 1920, Save the Children started individual child sponsorship as a way to engage more donors. By the end of the year, Save the Children raised the equivalent to about £8,000,000 in today's money.


Russian famine

By August 1921, the UK Save the Children had raised over £1,000,000, and conditions for children in Central Europe were improving due to their efforts. However, the
Russian famine of 1921 Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
made Jebb realise that Save the Children must be a permanent organisation and that children's rights constantly need to be protected. Their mission was thus changed to "an international effort to preserve child life wherever it is menaced by conditions of economic hardship and distress". From 1921 to 1923, Save the Children created press campaigns, propaganda movies and feeding centres in Russia and in Turkey to feed and educate thousands of refugees. They began to work with several other organisations such as the Russian
Famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
Relief Fund and Nansen which resulted in recognition by the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
. Although Russia was largely closed off to international relief and aid, Save the Children persuaded Soviet authorities to let them have a ground presence. At home, the ''
Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
'' criticised the Fund's work, denying the severity of the situation and arguing they should be helping their own people before helping Russia. The charity responded with increased publicity about the famine, showing images of starving children and mass graves. The campaign gained national appeal, eventually allowing the organisation to charter the SS ''Torcello'' to Russia with 600 tons of relief supplies. Over 157 million rations were given out, saving nearly 300,000 children. Improved conditions meant Save the Children's Russian feeding program was able to be closed in the summer of 1923, after having won international acclaim.


Second World War

Save the Children staff were among the first into the liberated areas after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, working with refugee children and displaced persons in former occupied Europe, including survivors of
Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...
. At the same time, work in the United Kingdom focused on improving conditions for children growing up in cities devastated by bombing and facing huge disruptions in family life.


Continuing crises

The 1950s saw a continuation of this type of crisis-driven work, with additional demands for help following the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
and the
1956 Hungarian Revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
, but also the opening of new work in Africa, Asia and the Middle East in response to the decline of the British empire. Like other
aid agencies An aid agency, also known as development charity, is an organization dedicated to distributing aid. Many professional aid organisations exist, both within government, between governments as multilateral donors and as private voluntary organization ...
, Save the Children was active in the major disasters of the era—especially the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and the
Biafra Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated form ...
secession in Nigeria. The latter brought shocking images of child starvation onto the television screens of the West for the first time in a major way. The sort of mass-marketing campaigns first used by Save the Children in the 1920s was repeated, with great success in fundraising. Disasters in Ethiopia, Sudan, and many other world hotspots led to appeals which brought public donations on a huge scale, and a consequent expansion of the organisation's work. However, the children's
rights-based approach to development Rights-based approach to development is an approach to development promoted by many development agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to achieve a positive transformation of power relations among the various development actors. This p ...
originated by Jebb continues to be an important factor. It was used in a major campaign in the late 1990s against the use of
child soldier Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures. Children in the military, includ ...
s in Africa. During the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, new cases outnumbered the available hospital beds in the country. Save the Children worked with the UK government's Department for International Development and Ministry of Defence to build and run a 100-bed treatment centre in Sierra Leone, as well as support an Interim Care Center in
Kailahun Kailahun is the capital of Kailahun District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Kailahun is a major business and commercial center of Kailahun District. The population was 13,108 in the 2004 census, a 2006 estimate of 18,41and a current est ...
for children who had lost their families to Ebola.


Contribution to UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child

In 1923, Save the Children founder Jebb voiced her support for an international declaration that establishes universal rights for children by remarking that "I believe we should claim certain rights for the children and labour for their universal recognition, so that everybody—not merely the small number of people who are in a position to contribute to relief funds, but everybody who in any way comes into contact with children, that is to say the vast majority of mankind—may be in a position to help forward the movement." Jebb created an initial draft for what would become the UN
Declaration of the Rights of the Child The Declaration of the Rights of the Child, sometimes known as the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, is an international document promoting child rights, drafted by Eglantyne Jebb and adopted by the League of Nations in 1924, and adop ...
in 1923. It contained the following five criteria: # The child must be given the means requisite for its normal development, both materially and spiritually. # The child that is hungry must be fed, the child that is sick must be nursed, the child that is backward must be helped, the delinquent child must be reclaimed, and the orphan and the waif must be sheltered and succored. # The child must be the first to receive relief in times of distress. # The child must not be put in a position to earn a livelihood and must be protected against every form of exploitation. # The child must be brought up in the consciousness that its talents must be devoted to the service of its fellow men. These five points were adopted by the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
in 1924 and were thus known as the
Declaration of Geneva The Declaration of Geneva was adopted by the General Assembly of the World Medical Association at Geneva in 1948, amended in 1968, 1983, 1994, editorially revised in 2005 and 2006 and amended in 2017. It is a declaration of a physician's dedicati ...
. This was the first important assertion of the rights of children as separate from adults and began the process that would lead to the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The Con ...
, adopted by the United Nations in 1989.


Convention on the Rights of the Child

Following the atrocities of World War II, the United Nations adopted the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...
in 1948. However, many felt the rights of children needed to be addressed in further detail with a separate document. The Convention consists of 54 articles that address the basic human rights that all children are entitled to: the right to survival; development to the fullest; protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and full participation in family, cultural and social life.UNICEF 2008 The four core principles of the convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival, and development; and respect for the views of the child. Today, the Convention serves as the basis for all of Save the Children's work. It has been ratified in every country around the world, with the exception of the United States.


Campaigns


Rewrite the Future

Rewrite the Future is Save the Children's first global campaign involving all 28 members of the Save the Children Alliance. Beginning in 2006, the campaign focuses on obtaining equal and quality education for children who are unable to attend school due to conflict or war. The campaign is focused in 28 states where armed conflict is particularly relevant including Afghanistan, Angola, Colombia, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Indonesia, Liberia, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Sri Lanka, and Uganda. In 2008, Save the Children surpassed its goal of improving educational standards for eight million children by reaching over 10 million.


Every One Campaign

The Every One Campaign was started in October 2009 as a result of the
Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenniu ...
created in 2000. The fourth goal aims to reduce the child mortality rate by two-thirds by 2015. Save the Children is working to achieve this goal through their Every One Campaign and their seven step program stating: # Implement credible national plans # Focus on newborn babies # Prioritize equally # Mobilize additional resources # Train and deploy more health care workers # Tackle
malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...
# Increase focus on children during emergencies


No Child Born To Die

No Child Born To Die was a campaign launched in the UK in January 2011 to combat the more than 8 million deaths of children under five from preventable or treatable illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia. The campaign priorities were to provide more of
vaccines A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity The adaptive immune system, also known as the acquired immune system, is a subsystem of the immune system that is composed of specialized, systemic cells and pro ...
,
antibiotics An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention o ...
,
nurses Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...
and
midwives A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...
. Research in 2011 showed that making vaccines available to the poorest children could save one million lives a year. The campaign launched with backing from celebrities such as
Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...
,
Alexandra Burke Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is a British singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the British television series ''The X Factor'' in 2008, and has been signed to Epic Records, RCA Records and Syc ...
,
Hermione Norris Hermione Jane Norris (born 5 December 1966) is an English actress. She attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the 1980s, before taking small roles in theatre and on television. In 1996, she was cast in her breakout role of Ka ...
,
Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...
,
Martin Clunes Alexander Martin Clunes OBE DL (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, comedian, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV comedy-drama series ''Doc Martin'' and Gary Strang in ''Men Be ...
,
Dervla Kirwan Dervla Kirwan (born 24 October 1971) is an Irish television, stage, and film actress who specializes in drama roles. She gained attention for her roles in ''Ballykissangel'', '' Goodnight Sweetheart'', and the Doctor Who Christmas special epis ...
,
Natasha Kaplinsky Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972)The Donor, News and information for blood donors, Winter 2009, National Blood Service, England, page 55 is an English newsreader, TV presenter and journalist, best known for her roles as a st ...
and
Edith Bowman Edith Eleanor Smith (born January 1974) is a Scottish radio DJ and television presenter. She hosted '' Colin and Edith'', weekday afternoons, weekend breakfast, and ''The Radio 1 Review'' on BBC Radio 1 until 2014 and has presented a variety of ...
. A TV advert in support of the campaign first aired on 24 January 2011, featuring
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
,
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
and
Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award a ...
.
Samantha Cameron Samantha Gwendoline Cameron (; born 18 April 1971) is an English businesswoman. Until 13 May 2010, she was the creative director of Smythson of Bond Street. Her husband, David Cameron, was the British prime minister from 2010 to 2016. She took ...
became a Save the Children Ambassador in March 2011, and a supporter of the No Child Born to Die campaign. No Child Born to Die was named the Digital Campaign of the Week in '' Third Sector'' magazine.


Every Beat Matters

The Every Beat Matters campaign, started in August 2012, aims to end preventable child deaths. Every year, more than 7 million children die before their 5th birthday, largely due to preventable and treatable causes like pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria. As part of the campaign,
OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown, bassist and cellis ...
created the new song "
Feel Again "Feel Again" is a song recorded by American rock band OneRepublic for their third studio album ''Native'' (2013). Originally intended as the album’s lead single, it was later rebranded as a promotional single. It was written and produced by Ry ...
". Lead singer
Ryan Tedder Ryan Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. As well as being the lead vocalist of the pop rock band OneRepublic, he has an independent career as a songwriter and producer for various artists since th ...
was inspired to write the song by listening to heartbeats of children in need in remote villages in Malawi and Guatemala. Proceeds from the sale of "Feel Again" on iTunes will benefit Save the Children, which trains frontline health workers to save children's lives around the world. In developing countries, frontline health workers are often the only link to health care for children who live beyond the reach of hospitals and clinics. They can provide a range of proven, lifesaving services including maternal and newborn care, child health, and management of chronic and communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, AIDS and diabetes. Yet according to the World Health Organization, there is a global shortage of at least one million frontline health workers.


If London Were Syria

In 2014 to mark the three-year anniversary of the Syrian civil war Save the Children released a campaign video about what life would be like for British children if a civil war erupted in the UK. The video reached over 20 million views in less than a week. The ad, created by commercials director Martin Stirling, has been described as "powerful" and "unsettling".
Samantha Cameron Samantha Gwendoline Cameron (; born 18 April 1971) is an English businesswoman. Until 13 May 2010, she was the creative director of Smythson of Bond Street. Her husband, David Cameron, was the British prime minister from 2010 to 2016. She took ...
is an ambassador for the charity Save the Children. Her husband,
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
, when Prime Minister, resisted calls for Britain to accept more refugees from Syria. In March 2013, Samantha Cameron said: "As a mother, it is horrifying to hear the harrowing stories from the children I met today, no child should ever experience what they have. With every day that passes, more children and parents are being killed, more innocent childhoods are being smashed to pieces."


Structure and accountability

Save the Children is an international umbrella organisation, with 30 national member organisations serving over 120 countries. Members lead on activities within their home territory and work with donors to develop programmes abroad, which are coordinated and delivered by a central body - Save the Children International - via teams on the ground in each country. Save the Children International also oversees humanitarian responses. All members of the association are bound by the International Save the Children Alliance Bylaws which includes The Child Protection Protocol and Code of Conduct. These set a standard for common values, principles, and beliefs.Our Structure
. Save the Children.
The Save the Children International website states that the member organisations work towards achieving four key initiatives: # Secure quality education for 8 million children affected by armed conflict. # Expand and improve their presence in countries of strategic importance. # Create a stronger voice for children where more than one member has programmes by integrating country operations. # Become the emergency response agency for children worldwide by improving disaster preparedness and response capacity so that they can best deliver immediate and lasting improvements to children.


Connections with other organisations

Save the Children helps to fund, and is aided with funds raised by, the British will-making scheme
Will Aid Will Aid is a British charity will-writing scheme designed to reinforce the need for everyone to have a professionally drawn-up Will (law), will and to raise funds for their partner charities. Will Aid was founded in 1988 following the example set ...
, in which participating solicitors waive their usual fee to write a basic will and in exchange invite the client to donate to charity. Save the Children collaborates with other NGOs in
Family Tracing and Reunification Family Tracing and Reunification (known as FTR) is a process whereby disaster response teams locate separated family members and reunite them following natural and human catastrophes. During major crises, children can become separated from their fa ...
.


Collaboration with banks

Save the Children teamed up with
Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...
and
Standard Chartered Standard Chartered plc is a multinational bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around 9 ...
in 2021 to create Fintech for International Development (F4ID), a social enterprise that "uses digital solutions to help deliver rising amounts of humanitarian assistance to hard-to-reach communities, ensuring it reaches those most in need".


Controversies


The Save the Children Fund film

In 1969, Save the Children UK commissioned film director
Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...
and producer Tony Garnett to make The Save the Children Fund Film. The resulting film was unacceptable to the organisation because they felt it presented their work in an unfavourable light. Eventually a legal agreement was arrived at which involved the material being deposited in the National Film Archive. In 2011, roughly 42 years later, it was shown to the public for the first time.


Expulsion from Pakistan

In July 2011, a fake vaccination program by the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
was uncovered. It then emerged that Dr.
Shakil Afridi Shakil Afridi ( ur, ), or Shakeel Afridi, is a Pakistani physician who allegedly helped the CIA run a fake hepatitis vaccine program in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, in order to confirm Osama bin Laden's presence in the city b ...
, the person organising the CIA's "vaccinations", had claimed that he was a Save the Children employee. In May 2012, Save the Children's country director for Pakistan, David Wright, revealed that the organisation's work had been badly disrupted ever since Afridi had made his claim, with medicines held up for long periods at airports, staff unable to get visas, and so forth. Wright also charged that the CIA had breached international humanitarian law and risked the safety of aid groups worldwide. "It was a setback, no doubt," said Dr. Elias Durry, the World Health Organization's polio coordinator for Pakistan, a few months later. Later that year, in September, it was reported that the Pakistani government had requested Save the Children's foreign staff to leave the country, In January 2013, the Deans of twelve top US schools of public health sent a letter to President Obama protesting against the entanglement of intelligence operations in public health campaigns. The letter describes the negative and lasting impacts of the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) use of a fake vaccination campaign in Pakistan during the hunt for
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
in 2011, which exacerbated the already persistent public mistrust of vaccines in the country. The CIA's "vaccination program" sparked a series of deadly attacks in Pakistan against dozens of aid and health workers associated with various aid and health campaigns, with the UN-backed polio-vaccination drive repeatedly halted as a result. Up to eight polio vaccination workers were assassinated in the country during this backlash. In May 2014, the Obama administration announced that they would no longer use vaccination programs as a cover for CIA activities. Pakistani investigators said in a July 2012 report that Shakil Afridi met 25 times with "foreign secret agents, received instructions and provided sensitive information to them." According to an early draft of a Pakistan Government report, which has not been publicly released, Afridi told investigators that the charity Save the Children helped facilitate his meeting with US intelligence agents although the charity denies the charge. The report alleges that Save the Children's Pakistan director at the time of the incident introduced Afridi to a western woman in
Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...
and that Afridi and the woman met regularly afterwards. The claim that the Save the Children Country Director had introduced Afridi to the woman is not credible, as the Country Director concerned had left Pakistan permanently well before the alleged meeting took place. The allegation does not appear in subsequent drafts of the report, although the document has still not been publicly released. On 11 June 2015, Pakistani authorities ordered all Save the Children workers to leave Pakistan within 15 days, and the organisation's office in Islamabad was closed and padlocked. This saga has led to a high degree of distrust and scepticism against the validity of
COVID-19 vaccines A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an est ...
in Pakistan.


Complaints of inappropriate behaviour

Chief strategist of Save the Children UK Brendan Cox resigned in September 2015 over allegations of "inappropriate behaviour". The charity, and
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
, temporarily suspended bids for government funds due to the scandal. Cox had previously denied any wrongdoing but finally admitted to inappropriate behaviour on 18 February 2018 and quit working for his two other charities. On 5 March 2020, the
Charity Commission , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , ...
published an investigation report that found there had been serious weaknesses in Save the Children's workplace culture, following a probe into the charity's response to allegations of misconduct and harassment against staff between 2012 and 2015. There were five complaints of sexual harassment and thirteen of bullying between 2016 and June 2018. Save the Children UK chief executive Justin Forsyth had three complaints of misconduct directed towards him by female staff, while Brendan Cox was publicly accused of sexual assault. The charity trustees had not been sent copies of an external report on corporate culture. Since then the charity has strengthened reporting and
whistle-blowing A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
policies that now permit anonymous staff complaints. On 22 February 2018 Forsyth resigned from
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
to avoid "damage" to the charities. On 11 September 2020, it was announced the charity could resume bids for government funding.


Logo font by Eric Gill

On 15 January 2022, it was announced that Save the Children would change the
typeface A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font. There are list of type ...
in its logo,
Gill Sans Gill Sans is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Eric Gill and released by the British branch of Monotype from 1928 onwards. Gill Sans is based on Edward Johnston's 1916 "Underground Alphabet", the corporate font of London Underground. ...
, due to its authorship in the 1920s by British artist
Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...
, who was posthumously revealed to have documented the sexual abuse of his young daughters, an incestuous relationship with his sister and sexual experiments with his dog. An anonymous source told ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' that the organization had been previously warned of the typeface's origin before its adoption, and that the decision to change it was made one year prior. The new logo is expected to be revealed later into 2022.


Jalalabad terror attack

On 14 January 2010, militants affiliated with
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...
launched a bomb and gun attack on a Save the Children office in
Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلال‌آباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...
, a city in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, killing six people and injuring 17.


Archives

Archives of Save the Children are held at the
Cadbury Research Library The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...
,
University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
.


See also

* Children's interests (rhetoric) * Child Development Index * Save the Children International *
Save the Children Australia Save the Children Australia is an aid and development agency dedicated to helping children in Australia and overseas. It is an independent, not-for-profit and secular organisation. Save the Children Australia is a member of the Save the Childre ...
*
Save the Children USA Save the Children Federation, Inc., commonly known as Save the Children USA, is a non-profit organization working to improve the lives of children in the United States and around the world. Their headquarters is located in Fairfield, Connectic ...
*
Save the Children State of the World's Mothers report The Save the Children State of the World's Mothers report (SOWM report) is an annual report by the Save the Children USA, which compiles statistics on the health of mothers and children and uses them to produce rankings of more than 170 countries, ...
* Street Kids International *
International Save the Children Union The International Save the Children Union (french: L’Union Internationale de Secours aux Enfants) was a Geneva-based international organisation of children's welfare organisations founded in 1920 by Eglantyne Jebb and her sister Dorothy Buxton, wh ...
*
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
*
NetHope NetHope, Inc. is a global consortium of nearly 60 global nonprofit organizations that specializes in improving IT connectivity among humanitarian organizations in developing countries and areas affected by disaster. The organization has partnershi ...
*
Christmas Jumper Day Christmas Jumper Day is an annual fundraising campaign in the UK and Ireland organised by charity Save the Children in the UK. On a specific day in December, people are encouraged to ''make the world better with a sweater'' and raise funds for S ...
*
Odisha State Child Protection Society Odisha State Child Protection Society (OSCPS) is the technical, fundamental and functional unit of Women & Child Development Department, Government of Odisha, for implementation of Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS). OSCPS has been reg ...
*
Children in emergencies and conflicts Children in emergencies and conflicts constitutes the effects of situations that pose detrimental risks to the health, safety, and well-being of children. There are many different kinds of conflicts and emergencies, for example, violence, armed con ...
*
Gopali Youth Welfare Society Gopali Youth Welfare Society, known as GYWS, is a government-registered non-governmental organization in West Bengal. It was founded in 2002 and registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961 on April 20, 2005. It is run by IIT K ...
*
Refugee children Nearly half of all refugees are children, and almost one in three children living outside their country of birth is a refugee.Emily Garin, Jan Beise, Lucia Hug, and Danzhen You. 2016. “Uprooted: The Growing Crisis for Refugee and Migrant Childr ...


References


Further reading

* Lynda Mahood, Vic Satzewich, "The Save the Children Fund and the Russian Famine of 1921–23: Claims and Counter-Claims about Feeding 'Bolshevik' Children," ''Journal of Historical Sociology'', 22,1 (2009), 55–83. *
Clare Mulley Clare Margaret Mulley (born 1969) is an English award-winning author and broadcaster. Her first book, ''The Woman Who Saved the Children: A Biography of Eglantyne Jebb'' (Oneworld, 2009) republished in 2019 to mark the centenary of Save the Chi ...
, "The Woman Who Saved the Children: A biography of Eglantyne Jebb, Founder of Save the Children" (Oneworld Publications, 2009) * Rory O'Keeffe


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Save The Children Organizations established in 1919 1919 establishments in England International charities