Our philanthropic partners stepped up tremendously in early 2025, donating critical undesignated funds in response to the foreign aid cuts, ensuring we could continue to reach as many children and families as possible. Many donors redirected previously restricted gifts to our overall mission fund – understanding the gravity of the moment and trusting Save the Children to direct the money where it was needed most.

Thanks to our supporters, we were able to allocate flexible humanitarian funding to nine countries to fill critical gaps and provide much-needed resources to some of the most vulnerable people, including children like 16-month-old Roya* shown in Afghanistan, being assessed for malnutrition.  

When a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar in March, 12-year-old Nay Min* lost the home he shared with his parents and older sister. Now, his family is surviving on limited savings while living in a temporary shelter.

Your flexible funding allows us to preposition emergency supplies, respond immediately to a crisis of this scale and help support children’s long-term recovery.  We distributed lifesaving items like food and clean water as well as cash assistance to Nay Min’s family.

Unlike traditional humanitarian funding, flexible funds can be quickly distributed to local and national partners as soon as – or even before – crisis strikes. These resources not only ensure fast relief reaches those most affected but also strengthens local leadership and community resilience over time. 

Thanks to donors like you, Save the Children stays as long as it takes to help restore education – a critical and underfunded component of disaster recovery for children.

In Myanmar, we’re providing school supplies to kids like Nay Min, helping schools complete repairs and setting up safe environments so children can get back to learning as quickly as possible. As of June, we’ve provided assistance to over 7.3 million people across 19 countries, meeting humanitarian needs like education.  

Global hunger has reached a record high. The combined impact of conflict, climate change and dramatic funding cuts to lifesaving programs has left children fighting for their lives. But we know how to treat and prevent malnutrition, avoiding progression to the deadly acute stage.

Abdi* is a playful 21-month-old who’s learning to talk. Malnutrition posed a serious threat to his health and development. When he arrived at a Save the Children health center in Somaliland, he was severely weakened from the condition.

His big sister, 10-year-old Faduma*, was worried sick. They come from a region where frequent droughts and floods lead to crop failures, livestock deaths, food insecurity and displacement. Abdi’s recovery was made possible with inexpensive treatment, including ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and special biscuits fortified with essential micronutrients. Play the video to see Abdi before treatment and six months later.

Cash programming is the greatest innovation in development assistance in the past quarter century. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen’s research shows that the biggest challenge for families in poverty isn’t food scarcity – it’s affording groceries.

Save the Children has been putting this insight into action since 1998, pioneering effective cash delivery programs to improve children’s lives worldwide. From Indonesia and Nigeria to Somalia and Ukraine, we empower families with direct financial support, ensuring they’re able to provide children with the nutrition and care they need.

Thanks to flexible funding from supporters like you, we invest in leading-edge research on cash assistance, working with global experts to develop the most effective and efficient approaches. In 2023, a groundbreaking randomized control study we conducted in Somalia with Johns Hopkins University found that providing mothers with as little as $80 a month led to a remarkable 10% reduction in toddler wasting – even amid seasonal flooding, active conflict and displacement. This reduction happened within three months of providing cash assistance paired with nutrition education, which only cost $5-$7 per child. Since 2019, your support has helped us deliver $711 million to families through our cash assistance programs.

EMPOWERING THEIR SEARCH FOR SAFETY

Three years of relentless attacks in Ukraine have forced 9-year-old Anna* and her family to move six times. Olena,* Anna’s mom, says the constant uprooting and goodbyes to friends have been tough on Anna, the oldest of three children.

Displacement has also brought financial hardship. Although Olena and her husband had jobs before the war, they now often resort to asking for money from others to make ends meet. Anna has scoliosis and needs regular access to specialist rehabilitation services, which are either closed or too expensive.

Thousands of Ukrainians have lost their homes, incomes and savings, while the cost of rent, utility bills and food has risen sharply. Through cash assistance from Save the Children, Olena says her family is settling into a new home – grateful to be able to cover the first month’s rent and utilities and have breathing room to plan for a more stable future.