What Happened to Save the Children Fund?

Save the Children Fund was established in London on April 15, 1919, by Eglantyne Jebb and her sister Dorothy Buxton, initially to alleviate the suffering of children in Germany and Austria-Hungary following World War I. This foundational act marked the beginning of a global movement for children's rights. Jebb's vision led to the drafting of the historic Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1923, which was adopted by the League of Nations in 1924 and later influenced the UN's Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Over the decades, Save the Children expanded its operations globally, responding to numerous crises including the Russian famine, World War II, and various conflicts and disasters across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In 1932, Save the Children USA was founded, mirroring the British organization's mission to help children, initially focusing on those affected by the Great Depression in the Appalachian Mountains. By 1979, national organizations formed the Save the Children Alliance, later renamed Save the Children International, to coordinate their worldwide relief efforts, growing to include some 30 national groups operating in over 100 countries.

In recent years, Save the Children has faced both significant challenges and continued its vital work. The organization has grappled with internal issues, including a 2020 Charity Commission report that highlighted serious weaknesses in its workplace culture and handling of misconduct allegations against senior staff between 2012 and 2015. Furthermore, the organization's #SaveTheChildren hashtag was unfortunately co-opted by QAnon conspiracy theorists in 2020, leading to public confusion and misrepresentation of its mission. Allegations of institutional racism and perceived bias in its response to the Gaza conflict also emerged, with staff criticizing a lack of diversity in leadership and disparities in global salary scales in 2024.

Despite these challenges, Save the Children remains at the forefront of humanitarian response. In 2022, it launched Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV) to catalyze private sector investment through impact investing and other innovative financial approaches, aiming to secure over US$1 billion in new funding by 2030. As of August 2026, the organization is actively responding to a multitude of emergencies, including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine where its offices have been damaged by aerial bombs, the severe humanitarian crisis in Sudan, and the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It continues to advocate for humanitarian access and the protection of aid workers, noting a record number of attacks against them between 2021 and 2026. Save the Children also reported a 30% surge in grave violations against children in conflict in 2024, the highest level ever recorded. The organization is also engaged in long-term initiatives, such as a renewed partnership with Ferrero until 2030 to combat child labor in cocoa-growing communities in Côte d'Ivoire. Janti Soeripto serves as the President and CEO of Save the Children US, a role she assumed in 2020.