Explosive weapons are causing unprecedented harm to children, particularly as conflicts increasingly take place in urban areas. A recent Save the Children report, Children and Blast Injuries: The devastating impact of explosive weapons on children, reveals that in 2024, nearly 12,000 children were killed or injured in conflict zones, with over 70% of casualties resulting from explosive weapons. This marks a significant rise from previous years, reflecting the growing destructiveness of modern warfare and the targeting of schools, homes, and hospitals—places that should be protected under international humanitarian law.
Traditionally, children in war zones were more likely to die from malnutrition, disease, or collapsed health systems, but the shift to urban warfare has increased their exposure to bombs, drones, and wide-area effect weapons. UN figures show that 4,676 children were killed and 7,291 injured in 2024 alone, a 42% rise from 2020. Government forces have been identified as the main perpetrators, responsible for 54% of civilian deaths and injuries, highlighting the international community’s failure to hold states accountable.
Children are uniquely vulnerable to blast injuries due to their smaller bodies and developing organs. Even a single blast can cause catastrophic injuries or death, and survivors often face lifelong disabilities, chronic pain, psychological trauma, and stigmatization. Medical systems frequently treat children as “mini-adults,” overlooking their distinct physiological and psychosocial needs, which makes treatment and rehabilitation more complex and costly.
The Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership, a collaboration between Save the Children UK, medical specialists, and academic institutions including Imperial College London, aims to address these challenges. Through initiatives such as the Paediatric Blast Injury Field Manual and the Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies, the partnership provides medics with guidance to treat children affected by blasts and conducts research to improve outcomes in conflict zones like Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan.
Recent conflicts have demonstrated the scale of the crisis, with occupied Palestinian territories, Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, and Afghanistan among the deadliest regions for children. The report underscores the urgent need for stronger protections, better accountability, and investment in medical and psychosocial support for affected children.
Save the Children is calling on world leaders to stop the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, implement stronger policies to protect children in conflict, and invest in victim assistance, research, and rehabilitation for children suffering from blast injuries. Without urgent action, the lives and futures of children in war-torn regions will remain at extreme risk.
