What we do
Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In Egypt and around the world, we work every day to give boys and girls a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children’s unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of boys and girls, including those hardest to reach. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis– transforming their lives and the future we share.
Save the Children has been working in Egypt since 1982. We play a leading role in addressing the needs and rights of the most deprived boys and girls, their families and communities. Our programs are increasing access to quality education services, improving maternal, neonatal, infant and school children health and nutrition; building stronger services for children, at risk of violence and abuse, promoting child participation and protection at the personal, family and community level, and promoting safe economic, education and participation options for adolescents and youth. We are also responding to a protracted refugee crisis in Egypt, providing protections and promoting equity for vulnerable refugee and migrant communities. Our programs reached around 2 million boys and girls, and their families in 2017 alone.
Our programs promote equitable outcomes for the most deprived boys and girls. We work with them and their families from diverse communities across 20 Governorates in Egypt with programs targeting poor and marginalized children, children at risk, children with disabilities and children on the move, including refugees and migrants.
We plan our interventions together with our partners; government, international organisations, community leaders and children; we listen to children, and we ensure child safe programs. We have a zero tolerance towards the abuse and exploitation of boys and girls by any of our representatives. We are equally committed to doing everything within our power to avoid unintended harm or accidents to children as a result of any of our activities.
Humanitarian Response
Save the Children in Egypt employs an immediate response to humanitarian crises with spill-over effect into Egypt, most recently the crises in Sudan and in Gaza. In partnership with Egyptian Authorities and wider humanitarian community, we were able to provide immediate support to affected children and families across the borders as well as to displaced families in Aswan, Greater Cairo, and Alexandria.
Save the Children was among the first international non-governmental organizations on the ground working near the borders with Sudan, addressing children’s needs at the border, on the move, and following arrival to destination, through delivering health, child protection and MHPSS services, as well as WASH education, and cash-based interventions. We currently have several ongoing projects across country, supporting refugees and asylum seekers.
Save the Children was also one of the first organizations to send essential supplies to across the borders to Gaza. Including water, food, medicine, shelter kits, and clothing items. We are also supporting Palestinian medical evacuees arriving in Egypt, including premature and new-born babies, by providing incubators and medical supplies, as well as training Egyptian medical workers. Currently, we continue to support displaced Palestinians in Egypt with cash assistance, emergency healthcare, educational services, and mental health support.
Education
• We work to improve access to safe, quality, and inclusive education for children, and we empower parents with awareness to support their children's learning at home
• We provide remedial programs to reduce dropout rates and address learning gaps, and we deliver Accelerated Education Programs to help out-of-school children return to formal or community education.
• We enhance the quality and safety of public and community schools through the Safe Schools and Enabling common approaches.
• We provide cash-for-education assistance to refugees and asylum seekers to overcome financial barriers.
Health & Nutrition
• We collaborate with governmental health providers and local partners to increase access to high-quality and timely healthcare services through:
- Community awareness and screening
- Reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health services
- Menstrual health and hygiene initiatives
• We improve the nutritional status of children and pregnant/breastfeeding women by:
- Promoting better infant and young child feeding practices
- Strengthening the detection, referral, and treatment of malnutrition.
• We support the implementation of government health strategies for development, humanitarian, and emergency health sectors
Child Protection
• We work to improve protection of children in Egypt, including refugees and migrants, from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence
• We empower families, teachers, and communities to protect children, increasing knowledge and building skills to address violence, and we promote children's safety, wellbeing, and development
• Respond to children at risk, including Unaccompanied and Separated Children, by providing individual case management support, and ensuring access to health, education, cash, legal, and psychosocial services
• Collaborate with government partners to develop and implement stronger national policies and standards for child protection, while paying special attention to children deprived of parental care
Youth Development and Livelihood
We focus on families' economic resilience and youth transition to adulthood.
For Families, we implement a child-sensitive graduation from poverty model
- Providing financial literacy and saving skills.
- Establishing Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs).
- Offering business and vocational skills training, and delivering mentorship and coaching.
- Providing start-up capital for income-generating activities.
We support youth transitioning to adulthood through:
- Market-driven livelihood skills and employability training.
- Access to jobs or assets for self-employment.
- Promote socio-economic empowerment.
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)
-We strengthen family and community bonds through a holistic, child-focused approach that centers on children, caregivers, families and the community responsible for children's well-being
-Provide direct MHPSS services to children at risk, including refugees and migrants-Children with disabilities and their caregivers.
-We strengthen the capacities of government and local NGO partners to deliver services using an MHPSS approach.
Climate Resilience
- Serves as a cross-cutting theme intersecting with multiple sectors, including:
(Education-Child protection-MHPSS-Health and nutrition-Youth empowerment and livelihoods-WASH) - In education, climate resilience involves:
- Integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies into:
* School extra-curricular activities.
* Infrastructure planning.
* Disaster preparedness programs
- Educating students about the impacts of climate change.
- Promoting sustainable practices within schools.
- Ensuring educational facilities are resilient to climate-related risks, such as extreme weather events. - Focus on building sustainable and resilient communities to withstand the challenges of a changing climate.
Direct Beneficiaries Statistics – 2025
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34,376
Child Protection
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27,388
Education
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26,574
Health and Nutrition
10,991
Child Poverty
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251
Child Rights Governance