Sport is a really powerful way of addressing youth isolation and exclusion and preventing violence. The IFRC has teamed up with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy of Qatar 2022 – Generation Amazing on a unique and innovative project that unites young people through one of the most popular sports worldwide: football. This is a case study from Uganda.

Within a context of multiple over-lapping conflicts and disasters, the Myanmar Red Cross Society has been implementing Child-Friendly Spaces that offer safe environments where children can play, learn, express themselves, and receive support to cope with the challenges they face. These spaces provide environments where children can engage in structured and unstructured activities, play, and receive psychosocial support in crisis-affected areas.

The Developmental Center provides stable, safe, and inclusive support for children in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, with a special focus on Ukrainian refugee families and children with disabilities or special educational needs. The programme offered individually tailored developmental activities, structured play sessions, thematic workshops, sensory and physical exercise programmes, as well as parental guidance and community engagement opportunities. The programme was implemented in Nyíregyháza, initially in a temporary location and later in a permanent, purpose-equipped center that ensured child safety, accessibility, and a welcoming environment.

The Cayman Islands Red Cross (CIRC) has delivered child-protection and sexuality-education programming for over two decades. The Protection Starts Here initiative was launched to bring together stakeholders working in child safeguarding, raise public awareness of child sexual abuse and to strengthen community capacity to prevent and respond to it. PSH shifted the organization’s focus from risk education to proactive protection, aiming to create a culture where adults take responsibility for the safeguarding of children.

The Baphalali Eswatini Red Cross is delivering services to children who are orphaned or in vulnerable situations through a partnership with the Lars Amundsen Family Foundation and the Japanese Red Cross Society. The services are implemented in the Hhohho and Shiselweni Regions through clinics operated by the Baphalali Eswatini Red Cross Society.

Botswana Red Cross Society (BRCS) runs two specialized early childhood centres that support children with special needs across the country. These are the Sefhare Stimulation Centre in Tswapong South and the Tshimologo Stimulation Centre in Francistown.

The Lesotho Red Cross programme for children who are orphaned or in vulnerable situations applies an intersectional community health model that integrates mental health and psychosocial support, stakeholder engagement, livelihood support, and direct linkages to primary healthcare facilities. In this way the programme aims to achieves both clinical outcomes and strong community-level reach. It focuses on educating and empowering communities on climate change and its health impacts; providing in-kind material assistance and supporting economic empowerment; strengthening disaster preparedness and response through improved stock management and community involvement; and enhancing community awareness of HIV prevention, voluntary counselling and testing, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy.

The Nigeria Red Cross manages several Community Children’s Homes, also known as Motherless and Abandoned Babies Homes, for children who are alone.

This Guidance Document is designed for anyone in a National Society who is assessing, designing, implementing, or monitoring and evaluating programming that involves UASC.

The Guidance Document is structured so that National Societies can use the sections that are most relevant to them. Some sections are relevant to all National Societies working with UASC, such as those for National Society preparedness, child safeguarding systems, actions for prevention, assessing needs, empowering and engaging UASC. Other sections like those on essential services and humanitarian diplomacy might have some parts more relevant than others depending on the context and focus each National Society is taking.   

Through the IFRC Children Affected by Armed Conflict project, the Yemen Red Crescent has delivered essential services to orphans and children with disabilities.