Helping in dangerous places matters more than ever

“I’m going to have a little rest, before I cook fish and fufu for my little ones,” says Falene. “After that, I’m going to start crushing stone to make gravel.”

Her words are matter of fact and her tone is sweet, but Falene is only nine. She’s just come home from school, and the “little ones” she’s feeding are her siblings. The gravel she crushes will be sold by her aunt to pay for school and food. The work is hard and dirty but it allows Falene to keep learning, even as her world remains shaky.

Falene lives in an internally displaced persons camp in Kalemie, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Families fled here to escape violent conflict, only to deal with new dangers. Awful floods have washed away homes, markets and health centres, and made farming—the backbone of survival—nearly impossible.

The school Falene attends was built to help displaced children catch up, but today it receives no government funding or external support. Instead, her classmates and their families grind rocks into gravel to pay their teachers’ salaries.

Growing up where crisis never really ends

No one in Falene’s camp wants to be here.

The situation in eastern DRC has displaced millions of people over the years. Communities have been faced with constant insecurity and many families have had to leave their homes.

“These children and families have hope that one day peace will return to their home villages, more than 150 kilometres away,” says Ignace. He leads World Vision’s programs in the area.

World Vision has recently partnered with the people in Kalemie. Working together, our team is prioritizing health care and more sustainable sources of income, so children like Falene are not forced to trade their safety or schooling just to get by.

The approach here will be different than traditional development work—because Falene lives in what is known as a “fragile context.” The road ahead may not be smooth or predictable, but helping families meet their survival needs—while building stability—is at the heart of the plan.

What are fragile contexts—and why do they demand a different kind of support?

“ Fragile contexts ” are areas of the world that face constant instability, conflict, violence and extreme poverty. Some of these places make the news often—like Gaza, Sudan and Haiti—while others, like Mali, seem forgotten.

Whether the world is paying attention or not, children in fragile contexts live in danger. They are exposed to the worst kinds of violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect. Their institutions and social systems aren’t functioning enough to protect them. In extreme cases, their government may even be committing violence against its own people.

In 2025, 72 per cent of the world’s extreme poor were living in high or extreme fragility contexts—a devastating 2 billion people. Half of children in these settings now live in extreme poverty, a number that has climbed over the past decade. Fragile contexts can be whole countries, or “pockets of fragility” within otherwise stable nations or cities. They often change quickly, as political tensions spike or people move in and out, seeking safety or food.

Supporting families in these places requires a unique approach. We must go beyond short-term emergency relief and work for people’s long-term well-being—yet be able to pivot when conflict erupts or a hurricane blows in.

How World Vision works in fragile contexts

World Vision has two main ways of working.

In many places, we use a linear but adaptive approach: partnering with communities to set plans, adjusting as we learn, measuring results and working with families over many years. (Our sponsorship programs, for example, are planned in regions of relative stability, and run for an average of ten years.)

But in places like eastern DRC, where crises are frequent or dire, institutions are weak, and the risk of disaster is high, we need something more flexible.

In 2017, World Vision developed the Fragile Context Programming Approach, a way of working that is tailored to fragile contexts, where “typical” development plans are constantly disrupted. In theory, work in these settings could follow a straight line: assess needs, design projects, implement, measure results. In reality, progress in fragile contexts is far from linear. Floods, outbreaks of violence or political tensions can derail plans overnight.

Our approach was designed for this volatility—it brings expertise from humanitarian relief, long-term development and peacebuilding together, so our teams can adapt quickly and protect children using the best response for the moment. In the international relief and development world, we call this combination of disciplines the Humanitarian-Development-Peacebuilding Nexus.

World Vision’s Nexus programming approach does more than help families survive to the next emergency. It works to see them survive, adapt and ultimately thrive, even in the most challenging environments.

Across seven countries where we first piloted our Nexus approach, over 90 per cent of respondents said World Vision’s presence and programs had “greatly” or “somewhat” improved their communities’ well-being. The approach has since been expanded to 10 countries.

Survive, adapt and thrive: World Vision’s Nexus approach in action

To be agile and responsive where conditions are ever-changing, our teams need information. For this, we use a real-time context monitoring tool that gathers information from community members, local authorities and other sources. Our frontline teams and partners track the changes and adjust quickly when needed.

Through periods of calm, crisis and events between, our activities fall under three “dials”: survive, adapt and thrive.

• When disasters strike, our programming dial turns to help people survive. This might involve food and cash assistance, shelter supplies, or child protection measures.
• As unstable situations begin to improve, we help communities adapt for future shocks. This could include diversifying people’s income sources, creating disaster preparedness plans or re-establishing essential service.
• Once things stabilize, we turn to the thrive response. Health services and child protection systems are strengthened. Communities tackle their priorities for children’s long-term well-being. Underlying causes of fragility—like fractured relationships—are addressed.

This three-pronged approach helps families to become more resilient in the long term. By combining emergency assistance with efforts that reduce future risks, people are equipped to withstand shocks and build stability.

In Tripoli, Lebanon: Cash for now, skills for the future

The city of Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, is under immense pressure. Home to 500,000 Lebanese people, 70,000 Syrian refugees and 30,000 Palestinian refugees, the city does not have the resources to keep up. Unemployment, food insecurity and increasing violence are putting children’s futures at risk.

One way World Vision applied the survive dial in 2025 was cash support: 338 families were paid through short-term cash-for-work programs. The money helped them cover critical needs like food.

Beyond helping families survive, we also helped them adapt for the future by working with partners to provide job skills training.

“We live in Tabbaneh, a place that has gone through very difficult times filled with conflict and hardship,” says Cybil, 53. “In such conditions, no matter how hard someone works, it is hard to get ahead alone, especially with a sick husband and the rising cost of living in Lebanon.”

Cybil had always loved sewing and wanted to learn. A course provided through World Vision’s Nexus program in Tripoli made it possible.

“I learned how to cut and tailor properly,” she says. “I am very grateful to the organization for supporting us through sewing education. It gave me the chance to build a skill that brings both purpose and support to my family.”

In Joda, South Sudan: Surviving cholera

Nasime and her young daughter were exhausted when they arrived at the Joda refugee settlement in South Sudan. They had made a grueling journey, partly on foot, but here, they might have a chance to breathe. Nasime set up a small business selling hibiscus juice.

Just two months later, unsanitary conditions led to a deadly cholera outbreak.

“Many lives were lost, and countless families mourned their loved ones,” Nasime recalls. Fear spread rapidly through the settlement.

World Vision teams responded, supplying clean water containers and soap, along with hygiene and sanitation education—all needed to help families survive.

“The issue wasn’t [just] the lack of clean water, but rather the contamination caused by poor storage practices and unhygienic behaviours, such as open defecation,” said Nasime.

The situation has improved, with community workers and hygiene promoters running door-to-door cholera awareness campaigns. Nasime takes extra precautions now when preparing her juice. She boils the water, washes her hands with soap, and stores clean water in covered containers. Everyone is urged to use toilets.

A new water delivery system has also been installed in the area with support from UNICEF, supplying clean water to 9,000 people.

These efforts in South Sudan are helping people survive, but World Vision continues to work for their long-term flourishing. For example, in 2025, 904 community members were trained in disaster risk reduction strategies, helping them adapt for the future and head off future crises.

The world is in constant crisis—why should we keep investing in fragile contexts?

World Vision Canada is guided by one goal: the sustained well-being of children, especially the most vulnerable. This goal helps determine where we work. And it has led us, increasingly, toward fragile contexts, because these are the places where children are in danger, hungry and unprotected.

Between fiscal years 2020 and 2024, World Vision Canada’s investment in the most fragile countries increased from 34 per cent to 61 per cent.

Even when others pull out of these settings, World Vision stays. Walking away is not an option—because failing to invest in fragile contexts means:

• Worsening global poverty
• Increasing levels of food insecurity and famine
• Exacerbation of conflict
• Higher mortality
• More demanding humanitarian needs in the long term

Fragility doesn’t just make communities more vulnerable when emergencies strike; it also makes it harder for them to bounce back. Each shock deepens the cycle of poverty, instability and displacement.

We stay in these regions because it’s the right thing to do, but we also know that fragility travels. Seeking stability for children and families in the world’s most dangerous places contributes to a safer world for us all.

How can I help support children living in fragile contexts?

Monthly support for our work in crisis settings is urgently needed. It can make a tremendous difference for children enduring the worst kinds of violence.

• When you become a Real ImpactTM partner and select the Respond cause, your donation will help families in the most dangerous, complex and difficult places during critical moments of need, and beyond.

If you would like to help but cannot commit to a monthly donation, a gift to Where Most Needed is also life changing. It gives World Vision the flexibility to help families in crisis—usually in fragile contexts—whether their situation is making headline news or not.

Answering your questions about fragile contexts

Is there a difference between a humanitarian emergency and a fragile context?

There are different kinds of emergencies and they can all happen in fragile contexts, but humanitarian emergencies and fragile contexts are not the same thing.

• Rapid onset emergencies are sudden, unexpected events that hit with little or no warning and cause instant, severe disruption. An example is the earthquake that hit Türkiye and Syria in 2023.
• Slow onset disasters develop gradually rather than suddenly. The crisis builds over time until people’s lives are at risk. An example is the famine that was declared in Somalia in 2011 after years of drought.
• Sustained emergencies happen because many of the world’s largest humanitarian emergencies have become more complex and drawn out. These “protracted crises” are often set in fragile contexts, where long-term conflicts cause extended displacement, disrupting livelihoods, education and other basic services for years. An example is the crisis in the Middle East. Sustained emergencies are not always fragile contexts, but they usually happen as a result of fragility.

What fragile countries is World Vision Canada working in right now?

With help from supporters in Canada, we are currently working in 10 countries considered to be most fragile or highly vulnerable using our Nexus approach. These are: Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Iraq, Lebanon, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Venezuela.

Why can I trust World Vision Canada to work effectively and use my support wisely in fragile contexts?

World Vision Canada is considered a trailblazer for our work in fragile, crisis-prone areas.

• We have strong, tested systems to design and run programs.
• Our unique rapport with cultural and religious leaders from diverse faith groups strengthens our projects in complex and sensitive environments.
• We are a core member of the Humanitarian Coalition, which lets us respond quickly to global crises and raise funds fast for large-scale emergencies.
• We partner with global networks like the Collaborative Cash Delivery (CCD) and the Cash Learning Partnership (CALP), which helps us deliver cash-based assistance with high quality standards.
• The global World Vision Partnership is the World Food Programme’s partner of choice for food and cash distributions in the most fragile contexts, allowing us to reach more people in need.

Written by Katie Hackett with input from Vremudia Irikefe.