NAIROBI, Kenya — A record number of children were killed, maimed, sexually assaulted or abducted in conflict zones last year, according to a new report by Save the Children International, underscoring the world’s growing failure to protect the most vulnerable amid escalating global violence.
The report recorded 41,763 grave violations against children in 2024, the highest figure ever verified — marking a 30 per cent surge from 2023 and a 70 per cent rise since 2022.
More than half of the documented abuses occurred in just four regions: the occupied Palestinian territory, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria, and Somalia — countries that have seen relentless conflict and humanitarian crises.
“These damning figures show that global focus on military and state security has failed to protect children from the gravest forms of harm,” the report states.
The organisation links the spike in child violations to the global expansion of conflict, revealing that 520 million children now live in active war zones — the highest number since World War II.
That means one in every five children globally is growing up amid violence and insecurity.
Since 2010, the number of children living in conflict zones has risen by 60 per cent, while verified grave violations have jumped by 373 per cent, the report adds.
Save the Children criticises the world’s spending priorities, noting that less than two per cent of global security budgets go to peacebuilding or peacekeeping efforts, even as global military spending hits record highs.
The study also reveals that over 11 per cent of the Earth’s land area was within 50 kilometres of a conflict event in 2024 — the most extensive spread of violence in modern history — with conflict incidents rising from 24,000 in 2023 to nearly 27,000 last year.
Africa has overtaken the Middle East as the region with the highest number of children living in conflict zones, with 218 million affected — the first time this has happened since 2007.
“Africa is now the continent with both the highest number and the highest share of children living in conflict zones,” the report notes.
Save the Children is urging governments to respect international humanitarian law, ensure safe humanitarian access, and increase funding for child protection in emergencies.
The group also calls for national peace strategies, peace education, and stronger accountability mechanisms for violations against children.
Above all, the report emphasises that children’s voices must be heard in decisions affecting their futures, calling for an end to what it describes as “the war on children.”
