Brief | Global Impact of Funding Cuts on Children and their Protection in Humanitarian Contexts

Children have the right to be protected from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence. Yet, in humanitarian crises children suffer first and most, with devastating consequences for their immediate safety and long-term well-being. The humanitarian system is under unprecedented strain. Major donors, including the US and key European governments, have drastically reduced humanitarian funding or signalled further cuts. In 2024 alone, the US contributed USD $14 billion—41.8% of the global appeal.  Reductions or anticipated cuts from the UK, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and the EU risk further deepening the crisis. These cuts come just as conflicts and disasters are escalating, hitting children hardest. 

Across regions, including refugee, migrant and internal displacement contexts, child protection programmes have been closed. This includes case management, family tracing and alternative care for unaccompanied and separated children, sexual and gender-based violence programming for child survivors, support for children associated with armed forces and groups, and children in detention, vital mental health and psychosocial support interventions, and approaches to support families and communities protect children. Reduced funding is leaving children increasingly vulnerable to abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence, and in the most severe cases is leading to life-threatening harms.

About this Brief: 

This briefing note is based on a data-gathering exercise led by the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action to understand the impact of humanitarian funding cuts on children and their protection. A global survey was completed by 250 child protection practitioners working in humanitarian settings across 55 countries. Of these respondents:

• 75% work at the national or subnational levels.
• 45% work for local or national non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
• 60% are based in Africa, 15% in Asia, and the rest are spread across the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and North America.

To complement the survey findings, the Alliance conducted in-depth interviews with five child protection agencies—four international and one national. These agencies shared data on funding reductions, programmatic impact, and changes in service coverage across 23+ countries. Together, the survey and interviews provide a global snapshot, combining quantitative insights with qualitative, field-level examples to highlight the severe and multi-layered impact of funding cuts on children’s protection across humanitarian crises. This briefing is intended to support engagement with humanitarian leadership, donors, governments and practitioners to mitigate the impacts of the funding cuts. 

Please note that the data was collected between March and mid-April 2025 and should be considered a time-bound snapshot of the realities organisations, children, and their families face.