Save the Children in Africa

Save the Children has worked in Africa for more than 60 years. Despite progress, research from Save the Children’s 2020 Global Childhood Report shows that Sub-Sahara Africa is still home to the 10 worst countries for children, including Niger, Mali, South Sudan and Burkina Faso.

Across the continent, 152 million children – or 1 in 4 – are living in a conflict zone. Nearly 59 million children in Africa suffer from stunting due to malnutrition. Girls in West and Central Africa face the highest risk of child marriage – about 4 in 10 are married before age 18.

In West Africa, the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history left tens of thousands of children without parents, while more than one million children in Liberia alone were affected by the closure of schools. Now, with the risk of COVID-19 ever-present, children and families in Africa without access to basic sanitation and health care are more at risk than ever. All this, as prolonged and frequent droughts across the Horn of Africa are leaving children and their families struggling to survive.

Save the Children is responding to the immense needs of vulnerable African children and families by helping to improve access to healthcare and education. We are also working tirelessly to keep children protected from the harms of conflict, including child trafficking, forced early marriage and child labor.

But we can’t do any of this lifesaving work without your support.