More than half of all children living in conflict areas in 2021 – an estimated 230 million – lived in the deadliest conflict countries, a 9% increase from the previous year, reveals new analysis from the humanitarian organization Save the Children International released today. High-intensity conflict zones are defined as conflict zones with more than 1,000 battle-related deaths in a year. The report also shows that about 449 million children worldwide were living in a conflict zone in 2021, a slight drop from the previous year.
According to Save the Children, Africa had the highest overall number of children impacted by conflict (180 million), followed by Asia (152 million), and the Americas (64 million). The Middle East was home to the highest proportion of children living in conflict areas, one in every three children. While Europe had the lowest overall number and proportion of children impacted by conflict in 2021, those numbers are expected to skyrocket in 2022 due to the escalation of violence in Ukraine.
The report says that despite an increase in the number of children living in the most lethal war zones, which saw more than 1,000 battle-related deaths in a year, the overall number of grave violations against children has dropped since the previous year, likely due to under-reporting resulting from access restrictions. While the recorded number of incidents of killing and maiming in conflict has dropped by about a third since 2018, more than 8,000 children still died or were maimed in 2021, according to United Nations figures. In 2022, these numbers are tragically expected to rise because of the war in Ukraine.
According to Save the Children’s analysis, Yemen topped the list of 10 worst conflict-affected countries to be a child in 2021, based on the number of grave human right violations recorded, the intensity of the conflict, and the share and number of children growing up with conflict-related violence. The analysis identified the ten worst conflict affected countries for children: 1. Yemen, 2. Afghanistan, 3. Democratic Republic of Congo, 4. Somalia, 5. Syria, 6. Mali, 7. Central African Republic, 8. Nigeria, 9. Burkina Faso, 10. Myanmar.
In 1999, the UN Security Council set out grave violations against children including killing and maiming, recruitment and use of children by armed forces or armed groups, abduction, rape or other sexual violence, denial of humanitarian access, and attacks on schools or hospitals.
Save the Children is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that campaigns for the rights and protection of children and delivers urgent humanitarian assistance for children worldwide. The NGO was founded in 1919 by the teacher and social reformer Eglantyne Jebb in Britain. Today, Save the Children International consists of 30 country organizations and is active in around 120 countries.
Further information
Full text: Stop the War on Children: The Forgotten Ones, Report by Save the Children international, released November 30, 2022
https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/pdf/stop-the-war-on-children-the-forgotten-ones.pdf/
Donate now to Save the Children International
https://donate.savethechildren.org/en/