Save the Children

Initial years The Save the Children Fund was founded in London, England, on 15 April 1919 by Eglantyne Jebb and her sister Dorothy Buxton in an effort to alleviate starvation of children in Germany and Austria-Hungary during the Allied blockade of Germany of World War I which continued after the Armistice. At the end of World WarI, images of malnourished and sick children ran throughout Europe. The Fight the Famine Council was initially started earlier in 1919 to put political pressure on the British government to end the blockade, the first meeting having been held at the home of Catherine Courtney, at 15 Cheyne Walk. On 15 April 1919, the sisters separated from the council and created the "Save the Children Fund". Jebb and her sister, Buxton, worked to gain exposure to elicit aid. In December 1919, Pope Benedict XV publicly announced his support for Save the Children and declared 28 December "Innocents Day" to collect donations. The first branch was opened in Fife, Scotland, in 1919. A counterpart, Rädda Barnen (which also means "Save the Children"), was founded later that year, on November 19, in Sweden with Anna Kleman on the board. Along with many other organizations, they founded the International Save the Children Union in Geneva on 6 January 1920. Jebb built relationships with other Geneva-based organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, who supported Save's International Foundation. Their mission was thus changed to "an international effort to preserve child life wherever it is menaced by conditions of economic hardship and distress". Second World War Save the Children staff were among the first into the liberated areas after World War II, working with refugee children and displaced persons in former occupied Europe, including Nazi concentration camps survivors. During this same time, work in the United Kingdom focused on improving conditions for children growing up in cities devastated by bombing and facing huge disruptions in family life. == Structure and accountability ==

Save the Children is an international umbrella organization, with 30 national member organizations serving over 120 countries. Members lead on activities within their home territory and work with donors to develop programs abroad, which are coordinated and delivered by a central body – Save the Children International – via teams on the ground in each country. Save the Children International also oversees humanitarian responses. All members of the association are bound by the International to Save the Children Alliance Bylaws which include The Child Protection Protocol and Code of Conduct. These set a standard for common values, principles, and beliefs. == Controversies ==

The Save the Children Fund Film In 1969, Save the Children UK commissioned film director Ken Loach and producer Tony Garnett to make The Save the Children Fund Film. The resulting film was unacceptable to the organization because they felt it presented their work in an unfavorable light. Eventually a legal agreement was arrived at which involved the material being deposited in the National Film Archive. In 2011, roughly 42 years later, it was shown to the public for the first time. Expulsion from Pakistan In July 2011, the Guardian uncovered a fake vaccination program by the CIA. It then emerged that Dr. Shakil Afridi, the person organizing the CIA's "vaccinations", had claimed that he was a Save the Children employee. In May 2012, Save the Children's country director for Pakistan, David Wright, revealed that the organization's work had been badly disrupted ever since Afridi had made his claim, with medicines held up for long periods at airports, staff unable to get visas, and so forth. Wright also charged that the CIA had breached international humanitarian law and risked the safety of aid groups worldwide. "It was a setback, no doubt," said Dr. Elias Durry, the World Health Organization's polio coordinator for Pakistan, a few months later. Later that year, in September, it was reported that the Pakistani government had requested Save the Children's foreign staff to leave the country, In January 2013, the Deans of twelve top US schools of public health sent a letter to President Obama protesting against the entanglement of intelligence operations in public health campaigns. The letter describes the negative and lasting impacts of the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) use of a fake vaccination campaign in Pakistan during the hunt for Osama bin Laden in 2011, which exacerbated the already persistent public mistrust of vaccines in the country. The CIA's "vaccination program" sparked a series of deadly attacks in Pakistan against dozens of aid and health workers associated with various aid and health campaigns, with the UN-backed polio-vaccination drive repeatedly halted as a result. Up to eight polio vaccination workers were assassinated in the country during this backlash. In May 2014, the Obama administration announced that they would no longer use vaccination programs as a cover for CIA activities. According to an early draft of a Pakistan Government report, which has not been publicly released, Afridi told investigators that the charity Save the Children helped facilitate his meeting with US intelligence agents although the charity denies the charge. The report alleges that Save the Children's Pakistan director at the time of the incident introduced Afridi to a Western woman in Islamabad and that Afridi and the woman met regularly afterward. On 11 June 2015, Pakistani authorities ordered all Save the Children workers to leave Pakistan within 15 days, and the organisation's office in Islamabad was closed and padlocked. This saga has led to a high degree of distrust and scepticism against the validity of COVID-19 vaccines in Pakistan. Complaints of inappropriate behaviour The chief strategist of Save the Children UK Brendan Cox resigned in September 2015 over allegations of "inappropriate behaviour". The charity temporarily suspended bids for government funds due to the scandal. On 5 March 2020, the Charity Commission published an investigation report that found there had been serious weaknesses in Save the Children's workplace culture, following a probe into the charity's response to allegations of misconduct and harassment against staff between 2012 and 2015. There were five complaints of sexual harassment and thirteen of bullying between 2016 and June 2018. Save the Children UK chief executive Justin Forsyth had three complaints of misconduct directed towards him by female staff, while Brendan Cox was publicly accused of sexual assault. The charity trustees had not been sent copies of an external report on corporate culture. Since then the charity has strengthened reporting and whistle-blowing policies that now permit anonymous staff complaints. On 22 February 2018 Forsyth resigned from UNICEF to avoid damage to the charities. On 11 September 2020, it was announced the charity could resume bids for government funding. Logo font by Eric Gill On 15 January 2022, it was announced that Save the Children would change the typeface in its logo, Gill Sans, due to its authorship in the 1920s by British artist Eric Gill, who was posthumously revealed to have documented the sexual abuse of his young daughters, an incestuous relationship with his sister and sexual experiments with his dog. An anonymous source told The Times that the organization had been previously warned of the typeface's origin before its adoption, and that the decision to change it was made one year prior. The organization effectively changed its logo that same year. Allegations of bias in Gaza Conflict Response Save the Children faced criticism from staff and observers over perceived bias and institutional racism during the Gaza crisis. Senior staff members denounced the organization for prioritizing Israeli hostages' concerns over the humanitarian crisis affecting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in a widely shared internal letter. They accused the organization of failing to recognize Arab children amid ongoing violence and spoke about structural issues, including a lack of diversity among leadership. In response to the letter, Save the Children CEO Inger Ashing acknowledged the "long-standing issues" of diversity, equity and inclusion. More than 120 Save the Children staff in Gaza released an open letter accusing leadership of suppressing advocacy for Arab children to appease influential stakeholders. They cited incidents of censorship, including restrictions on addressing alleged violations by Israeli forces during a military operation in Gaza. Save the Children leadership defended the global sign-off policy as a standard applied to all conflict. == Jalalabad terror attack ==

On 24 January 2018, militants affiliated with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province launched a bomb and gun attack on a Save the Children office in Jalalabad, a city in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, killing six people and injuring 27. ==Death of Hisham Al-Hakimi==

In September 2023, Hisham Al-Hakimi, the Safety and Security Director at Save the Children office in Yemen, was arrested by Houthi movement members and kept incommunicado. He died on 25 October 2023 while still being held in arbitrary detention. A group of humanitarian agencies including Save the Children called for investigation. == Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV) ==

In 2022, Save the Children launched Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV), a charitable foundation incorporated in Switzerland. SCGV's purpose is to catalyze private sector investment through impact investing and other innovative financial approaches to transform the lives of the world's most vulnerable children. == Archives ==

Archives of Save the Children are held at the Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham. == Sponsors ==

Save the Children has a 'strategic partnership' with Juventus FC in Italy as of 2018. == See also ==