Explore World Vision’s latest policy brief on families returning to Ukraine and Syria. Discover the complex trade-offs between safety, reunification, and child wellbeing.

World Vision MEER's latest policy brief sends a clear message: returning home does not automatically mean children are safe, supported or able to thrive.

New WV policy brief reveals that long after displacement ends, many children continue to face insecurity, hunger, disrupted education and psychological distress.

For years, Mphande Primary School in Chipapa Community stood as a symbol of the challenges facing rural schools across Zambia. Overcrowded classrooms forced learners outdoors under trees, teachers worked under difficult conditions, and limited access to technology left pupils to wonder what digital learning looked like. Today, that story has changed, and a new chapter of opportunity has opened for nearly 500 children.

Last year, our programmes impacted more than 5.8 million people, including 3.2 million vulnerable children and families across East Asia.

Returning home has not ended displacement for many Syrian families. Children continue to face poverty, disrupted education, protection risks, and psychological distress as communities struggle to recover from years of conflict. Sustained support is essential to help families rebuild their lives and futures.

In northwest Syria, displaced children face hunger, lost identity, and no education—while shrinking aid threatens a generation’s future.

After losing a child to malnutrition, Chantal feared history would repeat itself when her six-year-old son, Franck, became severely malnourished. Through World Vision's emergency nutrition support and the Positive Deviance Hearth approach, she learned how to prepare nutritious meals using locally available foods and received livelihood support to start a small business. Today, Franck has fully recovered, Chantal has strengthened her family's nutrition and income, and she is determined to build a brighter future for her six children. Her journey demonstrates how combining life-saving treatment, nutrition education, and economic empowerment can transform lives and help families break the cycle of malnutrition.

After leaving home for work and returning exhausted and discouraged, 16-year-old Aklima found a new path through education, family support, and a sewing machine that helped her rebuild her future.

4.2 million returnees are currently living in Ukraine, including 1.55 million people – 37% of all returnees – in frontline areas where active conflict is ongoing, raising urgent concerns that for millions of children, “going home” does not yet mean reaching safety, World Vision warns.