Catalysts for Change: A thematic review of Save the Children Sweden’s collaboration with civil society in emergencies

Save the Children Sweden (SCS) is clear in its belief that collaborating with civil society plays an important role in promoting, respecting, protecting and fulfilling children’s rights during emergencies: ‘We will always work with partner organisations when possible and appropriate and help rebuild a strong civil society for the rights of the child in emergency settings1.’ This review seeks to analyse the outcomes, impact and added value of this approach for children’s lives in five different emergency contexts. It also seeks to scrutinise the extent to which this approach is ‘possible and appropriate’ and what factors might contribute to this.
There are five case studies in this report which examine a broad range of responses in the context of long-term complex political emergencies as well as following rapid-onset environmental disasters. They include: an earthquake in Peru in 2007; the recovery phase of the tsunami in Thailand and Sri Lanka in 2005 and 2006; armed conflict in Lebanon between 2006 and 2008; and chronic ongoing instability in the post-war contexts of southern Sudan and Côte d’Ivoire between 2005 and 2008.