As the world's leading emergency response agency for children, we are there before, during and after emergencies, providing life-saving resources and delivering programmes that build-back-better once the clean-up is over.

For over 60 years, our role is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and protect the rights of children.

The issue

War and natural disasters have an especially fierce impact on children in developing countries. Children’s health and well-being are put at risk as hindered access to safe water and a lack of sanitation facilities can cause diarrhea and lead to a higher risk of infection. Besides measles, malaria and acute respiratory infections, malnutrition is the major killer of children during humanitarian crises. Especially during wartime children suffer from traumatising experiences as they might not only get separated from their parents or made orphans, but have to face the horror first-hand while serving as child soldiers.

How we respond

In the first six to eight weeks following an emergency, UNICEF, with its national, United Nations and NGO partner organisations, work to:

1. Assess, monitor, report and communicate on the situation of children and women.
2. Provide measles vaccination, vitamin A, essential drugs and nutritional supplements.
3. Provide child and, maternal feeding, and nutritional monitoring in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP) and NGO partners.
4. Provide safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene with basic family water kits and hygiene education.
5. Assist in preventing the separation and facilitate the identification, registration and medical screening of children separated from their families.
6. Initiate the resumption of schooling and other child learning opportunities by providing temporary learning spaces andb re-opening school.

Once this initial emergency response is well established, our emergency aid turns into long-term recovery and development. Re-building and re-establishing schools and health care services, providing permanent safe water supplies and sanitation facilities, and providing long-term care and support for orphans, are just a few of the activities UNICEF undertakes in the weeks and months following an emergency.

Check out our update documenting two years on after the 2010 Haiti Earthquake (PDF, 767KB) or read about our emergency education for children in Pakistan in stories from the field.

You can support UNICEF's future emergency work by donating to our Emergency Fund.