The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to improve children's lives by creating better educational opportunities, better health care, and improved economic opportunities. It achieves this through several methods, including health, education, and protection programs. The organization has general consultative status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Origins

Initial years

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 World War I to relieve the effects of famine in Austria-Hungary and Germany. She drafted the docu ...

and her sister Dorothy Buxton in an effort to alleviate starvation of children in Germany and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

during the Allied

blockade of Germany Blockade of Germany may refer to: *Blockade of Germany (1914–1919) 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 afte ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 t ...

. At the end of World WarI, 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, at

15 Cheyne Walk 15 Cheyne Walk is a Grade II* listed house on Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London, built in 1718. It was originally known as ''Carlton House''. It is considered to be a replica of 4 Cheyne Walk. Notable former residents include the landscape paint ...

. On 15 April 1919, the sisters separated from the council and created the "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, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

to "provide relief to children suffering the effects of war" and raise money for emergency aid to children suffering from wartime shortages of food and supplies. Jebb and her sister, Buxton, worked to gain exposure to elicit aid. In December 1919, Pope Benedict XV 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 also means "Save the Children"), was founded later that year, on November 19, in Sweden with Anna Kleman on the board." Anna Kleman – med engagemang i kvinnofrågor och fredsarbete"
. Läst 15 januari 2018. Along with many other organizations, they founded the

International Save the Children Union The International Save the Children Union () was a Geneva-based international organisation of children's welfare organisations founded in 1920 by Eglantyne Jebb and her sister Dorothy Buxton, who had founded Save the Children in the UK the previou ...

in Geneva on 6 January 1920. Jebb built relationships with other Geneva-based organizations, including the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

, who supported Save's International Foundation. Jebb used fund-raising techniques to gain exposure, 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 to engage more donors. By the end of the year, Save the Children raised the equivalent of about £8,000,000 in 2005 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) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

made Jebb realize that Save the Children must be a permanent organization 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 centers in Russia and Turkey to accommodate and educate thousands of refugees. They began to work with several other organizations such as the Russian Famine Relief Fund and Nansen which resulted in recognition by the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) 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 (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. 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 (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'' criticized the Fund's work, denying the severity of the situation and arguing they should be helping their 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 organization 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, working with refugee children and displaced persons in former occupied Europe, including

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

survivors. During this 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 The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and the

1956 Hungarian Revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

, and 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 organizatio ...

, Save the Children was active in the major disasters of the era—especially the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and the

Biafra Biafara Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicized as Biafra ( ), officially the Republic of Biafra, was a List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria ...

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 that brought public donations on a huge scale, and a consequent expansion of the organization's work. However, the children's

rights-based approach to development Rights-based approach to development is promoted by many development agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to achieve a positive transformation of power relations among the various development actors. This practice blurs the distinct ...

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 in the military, including state armed forces, non-state armed groups, and other military organizations, may be trained for combat, assigned to support roles, such as cooks, porters/couriers, or messengers, or used for tactical adv ...

s in Africa. During the

2014 Ebola outbreak The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease, centered in West Africa, was the most widespread outbreak of the disease in history. It caused major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and S ...

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 center 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 es ...

for children who had lost their families to Ebola.

Structure and accountability

Save the Children is an international umbrella organization, with 30 national member organizations serving over 120 countries. Members lead on activities within their home territory and work with donors to develop programs abroad, which are coordinated and delivered by a central body –

Save the Children International Save the Children International, formerly known as the International Save The Children Alliance, is a worldwide non-profit organization that aims to improve the living of children. There are 30 Save the Children member organizations around the wo ...

– 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 to Save the Children Alliance Bylaws which include The Child Protection Protocol and Code of Conduct. These set a standard for common values, principles, and beliefs.Our Structure
. Save the Children.

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 retiredhttps://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/ English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views ar ...

and producer Tony Garnett to make ''

The Save the Children Fund Film ''The Save The Children Fund Film'' is a 50-minute British documentary from 1971 directed by Ken Loach and produced by Tony Garnett. Originally known as ''In Black and White'', It was commissioned by London Weekend Television on behalf of the char ...

''. The resulting film was unacceptable to the organization because they felt it presented their work in an unfavorable light. Eventually a legal agreement 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, the Guardian uncovered a fake vaccination program by the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

. It then emerged that Dr.

Shakil Afridi Shakil Afridi (), 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 by obtain ...

, the person organizing 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 organization'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 Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...

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 (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

and that Afridi and the woman met regularly afterward. 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). Knowledge about the structure and func ...

in Pakistan.

Complaints of inappropriate behaviour

The chief strategist of Save the Children UK Brendan Cox resigned in September 2015 over allegations of "inappropriate behaviour". The charity 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 The Charity Commission for England and Wales is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's Government that regulates registered charities in England and Wales and maintains the Central Register of Charities. Its counterparts in Scotland and ...

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 Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...

policies that now permit anonymous staff complaints. On 22 February 2018 Forsyth resigned from

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

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 a design of Letter (alphabet), letters, Numerical digit, numbers and other symbols, to be used in printing or for electronic display. Most typefaces include variations in size (e.g., 24 point), weight (e.g., light, ...

in its logo,

Gill Sans Gill Sans is a Sans-serif#Humanist, humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Eric Gill and released by the British branch of Monotype Imaging, Monotype in 1928. It is based on Edward Johnston's 1916 "Johnston (typeface), Underground Alphabet", t ...

, 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-craftsma ...

, 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 Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' 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 organization effectively changed its logo that same year.

Allegations of bias in Gaza Conflict Response

Save the Children faced criticism from staff and observers over perceived bias and institutional racism during the Gaza crisis. Senior staff members denounced the organization for prioritizing

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i hostages' concerns over the humanitarian crisis affecting Palestinian children in

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

in a widely shared internal letter. They accused the organization of failing to recognize Arab children amid ongoing violence and spoke about structural issues, including a lack of diversity among leadership and accusing them of a neo-colonial approach to aid. In response to the letter, Save the Children CEO Inger Ashing acknowledged the "long-standing issues" of diversity, equity and inclusion. More than 120 Save the Children staff in Palestine released an open letter accusing leadership of suppressing advocacy for Palestinian children to appease influential stakeholders. They cited incidents of censorship, including restrictions on addressing violations by Israeli forces during a deadly military operation in Gaza. Save the Children leadership defended the global sign-off policy as a standard applied to all conflict.

Allegations of institutional racism

Save the Children has faced allegations of institutional racism. Critics have pointed to a lack of diversity among leadership roles and decision-making bodies, with concerns that the functional leads responsible for designing the restructuring processes were predominantly from the Global North and lacked representation reflective of the organization's diverse workforce and the communities it serves. While Save the Children implemented measures such as diverse selection panels and DEI training, staff expressed skepticism about the authenticity and impact of these initiatives. In September 2024, the organization released a new global salary scale that was widely criticized for containing perceived systemic biases. These salary proposals were characterized as "inherently racist" by staff, citing stark disparities between pay for roles in the

Global North Global North and Global South are terms that denote a method of grouping countries based on their defining characteristics with regard to socioeconomics and Global politics, politics. According to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global S ...

and

Global South Global North and Global South are terms that denote a method of grouping countries based on their defining characteristics with regard to socioeconomics and politics. According to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global South broadly com ...

. For example, comparable roles in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

were assigned vastly different pay scales, with the latter being far below local living standards and in some cases even below national minimum wages. National contract holders allegedly received no severance packages at all while employees in wealthier nations were offered more substantial redundancy terms.

Jalalabad terror attack

On 24 January 2018, militants affiliated with

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number 2 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious populatio ...

launched a bomb and gun attack on a Save the Children office in

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Help:IPA/Persian, ͡ʒä.lɑː.lɑː.bɑːd̪ is the list of cities in Afghanistan, fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 200,331, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part ...

, a city in the eastern Afghan province of

Nangarhar Nangarhār (Pashto: ; Dari: ), also called Nangrahar or Ningrahar, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country and bordering Logar, Kabul, Laghman and Kunar provinces as well as having an internatio ...

, killing six people and injuring 27.

Murder of Hisham Al-Hakimi

In September 2023, Hisham Al-Hakimi, the Safety and Security Director at Save the Children office in

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, was arrested by

Houthi movement The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydism, Zaydi Shia Islamism, Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadersh ...

members and kept incommunicado. He died from torture on 25 October 2023 while still being held in arbitrary detention. Investigative journalists have alleged that there was a deliberate negligence by Save the Children’s regional director Ekin Ogutogullari regarding Al-Hakimi’s

whistleblowing Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...

on alleged ties of the Country Director Rama Hansraj to Houthi groups. Save the Children terminated contracts for both Ekin Ogutogullari and Rama Hansraj. A group of humanitarian agencies including Save the Children called for investigation.

Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV)

In 2022, Save the Children launche
Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV)
a charitable foundation incorporated in Switzerland. SCGV's purpose is to catalyze private sector investment through impact investing and other innovative financial approaches to transform the lives of the world's most vulnerable children.

CUBIC - The Center for Utilizing Behavioral Insights for Children

Save the Children launche
the Center for Utilizing Behavioral Insights for Children (CUBIC)
in 2020. CUBIC’s mission is to apply behavioral science to create change for the world’s most marginalized children, using innovative, evidence-based, and scalable solutions. It does this through providing training, delivering technical advice, and leading research to identify, test and evaluate solutions to specific behavioral challenges. Save the Children sees CUBIC, and the investment made in its pioneering team, as a sector level contribution that can improve program effectiveness with cost-effective solutions. In CUBIC’s first five years of operation, it has delivered over 50 projects spanning a number of thematic areas including early childhood development, positive parenting, reducing hazardous child labor, tackling adolescent gender-based violence and supporting vaccination uptake. As well as working with Save the Children offices across the world, CUBIC works in partnership with other NGOs, behavioral science organisations and academic institutions.

References

External links