Mortality

• In 2017, 15,000 children under the age of 5 died every day; that's equivalent to 1 child every 17 seconds (WHO).
• Leading causes of death in under-5 year olds are birth complications, pneumonia, birth asphyxia, diarrhea and malaria. About 45% of child deaths are linked to malnutrition (WHO).
• 2.7 million children die every year in the first month of life, and a similar number are stillborn (WHO). 
   

Poverty

• Children represent roughly a third of the world's population but account for almost half of all people living in extreme poverty (UNICEF). 

• An unprecedented 68.5 million people have been forced from their homes. Among them are nearly 25.4 million refugees, over half of whom are children (UNICEF). 
• 10,000 unaccompanied migrant children are missing in Europe (Europol).
   

War & conflict

• There are over 250 million children living in countries affected by conflict (UNICEF).
• 1 in 4 of the world's children live in a conflict or disaster zone (UNICEF).
• One person becomes displaced every 2 seconds - that's 30 people who are newly displaced every minute (UNHCR).
• In the ongoing conflict in Gaza and Israel, more than 31,000 people have been killed since October 2023, about 12,500 of whom were children
• An estimated 17,000 children from Palestine are unaccompanied or separated from their parents (OCHA, February 2024).
• More than 640,000 children from Palestine have had their homes damaged or destroyed (OCHA, February 2024).

How SOS Children's Villages helps

SOS Children’s Villages builds loving, stable families for orphaned, abandoned and other vulnerable children in more than 130 countries and territories, including the United States.

Our approach

We are the largest nongovernmental organization dedicated to the care of orphaned and abandoned children, with 75 years of expertise.

Our comprehensive approach–preventing child abandonment, offering long-term care for children in need and empowering young people with the resources to reach their full potential–transforms the lives of millions of children and families worldwide each year.

Prevention

We help families and communities become stronger. At SOS Children's Villages, we combine short-term aid and long-term guidance to strengthen families so they are better able to care for their children and to protect them from child labor, child trafficking and other threats to their safety.

Long-term care

Belonging to a family means growing up feeling safe to be yourself and dream freely about your future. Children who lack family care can become part of a new family at one of our villages, join a foster family or be cared for by relatives who benefit from SOS Children’s Villages services.

Empowerment

We set young adults up for success. To increase youth employability and unlock young adults' full potential, SOS Children's Villages provides education, life skills development, vocational and entrepreneurship training, soft skills development, access to internships, mentoring and more.

Movement building

SOS Children's Villages advocates for children's rights, voices and lives. We work with other development agencies, governments and communities to advance initiatives that help children and families, and to raise awareness about the rights of children and the responsibilities of those around them.
 

Emergency response

In times of war and natural disaster, we rush immediate, life-saving relief to children and families amidst conflict in places like Israel, Palestine and Ukraine or following natural disasters like earthquakes or floods. We provide emergency aid; bring children who are in danger to safety in our children’s villages; supply critical resources for survival, like food, water and clothing; operate child-friendly spaces; offer psychological support so children can heal from trauma; and help children and families regain stability to rebuild their lives in the long-term.

With our established global infrastructure, network of partners and trusted recognition as a reliable and effective partner in quality care, we work with other development agencies, governments and communities to advance initiatives that help children and families in need.