World Refugee Day Children make up 51 of the worlds refugees

Children fleeing South Sudan collect blankets and other items from Red Cross volunteers in northern Uganda. Fighting in South Sudan has displaced millions of people, who leave behind land, crops, and food stocks—in addition to educational opportunities for children. Tommy Trenchard / Panos / IFRC 

Civilians flee west Mosul as fighting in Iraq intensifies. The Iraqi Red Crescent is helping people displaced by fighting to survive, including by baking tens of thousands of bread loaves every single day.  Tommy Trenchard / Panos Pictures 

Three kids traveling without parents look into the water on their way to Italy. The kids—two from Nigeria and one from Senegal—were rescued from a rubber dinghy in the Mediterranean Sea between Libya and Italy. One of the boys did not know how to swim and was pulled from the water by professional rescuers. 

Some mothers have given birth as they flee for safety, such as this mom at a reception center in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Red Cross teams are providing medical care to migrants in countries of origin, transit and arrival. Caroline Haga/IFRC

Displaced people from South Sudan are registered at a collection point just across the border in northern Uganda. Conflict—combined with inconsistent rainfall and low crop yields—have plagued families in South Sudan. For some, this is the second or third time they have been forced to leave everything behind. Tommy Trenchard / Panos / IFRC 

At a Yemen Red Crescent water point in Sanaa, a volunteer provides water for people impacted by the country’s fighting twice a day. Still, this is not enough. With limited access to healthcare services, the breakdown in safe water supplies and failure of sewage system increases the incidence of water borne diseases, like cholera. Maria Korkunc/Norwegian Red Cross 

Libyan Red Crescent volunteers responded to a phone call about 69 migrants of different nationalities who had been found inside a metal container near Khoms. They had been trapped in the container for four days. Red Crescent teams provided first aid, food, blankets, and comfort to the survivors—among them a 5-year-old girl named Aisha. 

Syrian refugees pictured at an informal tented settlement near Tripoli, Lebanon. In six years of conflict, millions of people have fled from Syria. Most are living in neighboring Lebanon and Jordan. Since 2011, the American Red Cross has spent or committed more than $2.5 million to support efforts in Syria and neighboring countries. Andrew McConnell/British Red Cross

A combination of pervasive insecurity, combined with recurrent drought and chronic underdevelopment has left millions of people in Somalia in need of urgent and sustained humanitarian assistance. The Somali Red Crescent is present throughout the country, supporting communities to respond to the many and growing challenges they are facing. Arie Kievit /Netherlands Red Cross