Background Paper | Child Protection in a Resource-Constrained World: From Challenges in Financing to Innovative Solutions

This background paper sets the scene for the 2026 Annual Meeting for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, examining how escalating humanitarian needs, acute funding cuts, system-wide reforms, and the erosion of international humanitarian and human rights law are reshaping the operating environment for child protection. 

Drawing on evidence from more than 50 humanitarian contexts, it outlines the real and immediate impacts of funding shortfalls on child protection programmes, coordination, and the wider protective environment for children, while also highlighting how child protection actors are adapting through innovation, prioritisation, and community-based approaches. 

The paper provides a shared analytical foundation for reflection, discussion, and collective problem-solving at the Annual Meeting, and is intended to help inform abstract submissions by situating proposed contributions within the key challenges, trends, and emerging responses shaping child protection in an increasingly resource-constrained world.

The paper is currently available in English, with translations in Arabic, French, and Spanish coming soon.