New Report! UNPROTECTED: Analysis of Funding for Child Protection in Armed Conflict in 2021 and 2022

Underfunded humanitarian programs are leaving children in conflict-affected areas unprotected — and it could get worse

Children living in situations of armed conflict and in dire need of life-saving and life-sustaining protection services are being increasingly neglected, highlights a new report. In 2022, 66 million children affected by armed conflict worldwide required vital protection services, yet less than a third of these were reached. 

A new report analyzing humanitarian funding in 2021-2022 shows that the available resources are simply not keeping pace with the increasing numbers of children in need of protection. While humanitarian appeals overall are funded at around 60%, child protection programs were funded at only 22% in 2021, and this figure fell to 19% in 2022. 

According to the report, if these trends continued, the future for children would be bleak. The forecast suggests that the funding gap for child protection programs in conflict settings will reach $1 billion by 2026. 

The report “UNPROTECTED: Analysis of funding for child protection in armed conflict in 2021 and 2022” was launched by Save the Children, the Global Child Protection Area of Responsibility, the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, and Humanitarian Funding Forecast. 

“Child protection services in humanitarian situations are critical not only to respond to incidents of abuse, violence, exploitation, and neglect, but also to prevent these violations from happening in the first place,” highlights Hani Mansourian, Coordinator of the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action. “Preventing children from being separated from their families or being recruited into armed groups or armed forces will give them opportunities to thrive, thus positively impacting the well-being of society as a whole.”

“If we do not take action now, the increasing funding gap will translate into millions of children having their right to a healthy and bright future never realized,” highlights Ron Pouwels, Coordinator of the Global Child Protection Area of Responsibility. “This week a critical Conference on Protecting Children in Armed Conflict will be held in Oslo on 5-6 June. We call on the humanitarian community to seize this opportunity and make bold commitments to ensure the protection of children is the central priority in humanitarian action.”