Disaster strikes
Emergencies present great risks for young children’s survival, safety, and healthy development. Often, these risks to children are not prioritized despite their life-long lasting effects. The following section outlines the main categories of risks that young children and their families commonly face during emergencies.
Disruption of caregiving and attachment relationships
Emergencies can destabilize the close relationships children rely on for safety and emotional security.
Separation from parents or primary caregivers (due to death, displacement, illness, chaos)
Caregivers overwhelmed, stressed, or unable to provide consistent care and emotional support
Decrease in physical and mental health and well-being
Food Insecurity and Malnutrition
Disruptions to food systems and livelihoods threaten children’s nutrition and healthy growth.
Disruption of food systems leading to inadequate die.
Economic hardship limiting families’ ability to access or afford nutritious food
Malnutrition risks can affect brain development, immune health, and overall survival in early childhood
Heightened Risk of Violence, Neglect, Exploitation
Crisis conditions increase children’s exposure to harm, neglect, and exploitation.
Increased domestic violence, especially in confined or high-stress settings
Greater risk of child neglect as caregivers face hardship or breakdown
Exposure to exploitation (e.g., trafficking, forced labor, abuse) in insecure or unmonitored settings
Interrupted Access to Essential Services
Breakdowns in essential services leave children without vital health, nutrition, and learning support.
Breakdown in routine healthcare (vaccinations, growth monitoring)
Interrupted access to food, clean water, and sanitation
Closure or disruption of early childhood services, learning spaces, and childcare
Psychosocial Distress and Toxic Stress Exposure
Exposure to fear, chaos, and uncertainty places children under toxic stress that hinders development.
Exposure to fear, uncertainty, chaos, violence, or destruction
Lack of safe spaces for play, learning, and emotional recovery
Chronic toxic stress undermining early brain development
Unsafe Living Conditions
Unstable or overcrowded environments during crises compromise children’s safety and well-being.
Loss of home and stable environment
Overcrowded, temporary shelters not adapted to young children’s needs
Increased exposure to physical dangers and environmental hazards
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Preparing the ECD System for Emergencies
Crises strike unexpectedly, disrupting lives, deepening existing inequalities, severing access to essential services, and jeopardising young children's development. Early childhood systems must be better prepared, by building resilient systems that are agile, inclusive, sustainable, and coordinated across all sectors. Explore here five core components of system preparedness
