Save the Children has warned that the «decisions by some governments» to reduce their funding and commitment to humanitarian aid «puts the lives and future of millions of boys and girls» in the world at risk who are facing «the highest levels of poverty, conflicts, and natural disasters in recent history.»
«The global cut in humanitarian aid is a dark and challenging moment for a world already struggling to meet the growing needs of children facing conflicts, poverty, hunger, and climate disasters,» said the global director of Save the Children, Inger Ashing.
Furthermore, she has alerted that this cut «comes at a time when the needs of children have never been greater.» The organization estimates that «one in every 11 boys and girls» on the planet needs humanitarian aid to survive.
Specifically, the NGO has warned that the cuts will force the closure of programs with «catastrophic consequences» for the families that depend on them. For example, it points out that nearly two million kilograms of food intended for hungry children are already being withheld, even in areas where famine has been declared. As the organization recalls, 45 million boys and girls worldwide suffer from severe malnutrition.
Additionally, Save the Children has stated that about 13 million emergency medical supplies have also not been able to be used to assist girls and boys in emergency situations due to the decision to pause humanitarian aid; and has added that the impact of the cuts could lead to the closure of hospitals or educational programs in many of the most disadvantaged places on the planet, especially in those where there is active conflict.
«It is very worrying that humanitarian aid is being reduced while we see the demands of children in the world increasing. Never before have there been so many children displaced from their homes, and one in every five children lives or flees from brutal conflict and is at greater risk of harm than at any other time in the last 20 years,» said the general director of Save the Children in Spain, Andrés Conde.
Therefore, he has called on the international community to stop this «wave of regression» in humanitarian aid that «threatens to undo decades of progress.» «The rights of children are above any political decision. No one can question that children deserve the utmost protection,» Conde emphasized.