Pioneering research to tackle rising number of global child blast injuries

Imperial research has been highlighted for its role in addressing the rising of number of child blast injuries around the world.

Researchers from Imperial’s Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies provided technical data and expert guidance for a new report by Save the Children, which warns that explosive weapons are killing children on a scale never seen before.

"Treating blast injuries is far from straightforward. It takes specialised knowledge and continued research to ensure children can not only recover but grow and thrive after amputation or surgery." Professor Anthony Bull Director of the Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies

In partnership with Save the Children, the Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies, based at Imperial's White City Campus, has been working to push forward lifesaving research on treatment for children who have been injured by explosive weapons.

With over 14 years of experience in blast injury studies, Imperial’s experts are carrying out interdisciplinary research to address knowledge gaps in this field, including the development of technology that can be deployed in settings with limited resources, such as conflict zones.

Professor Anthony Bull, Director of the Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies at Imperial, said: “Treating blast injuries is far from straightforward. It takes specialised knowledge and continued research to ensure children can not only recover but grow and thrive after amputation or surgery.

“The shocking findings of this report show how our partnership with Save the Children can help address this urgent humanitarian challenge by ensuring our research is benefitting the people who need it most.”

Professor Anthony Bull, Director of the Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London 

Changing conflicts

For decades, children in war zones were more likely to die from malnutrition, disease, or collapsing health systems than from explosive weapons. However, Save the Children’s report warns that wars are increasingly moving into urban environments and children are being put at greater risk, with bombs and drones striking schools, homes, and hospitals.

The report also states that explosive weapons were responsible for more than 60 per cent of all recorded child deaths and injuries between 2020 and 2024, with government forces identified as the primary perpetrators of child deaths and injuries during this period.

Save the Children reported that nearly 12,000 children were killed or injured in 2024 alone – the highest number ever recorded. The occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), Sudan, and Ukraine were identified among the deadliest conflicts for children during this period.

Commenting on the report, Narmina Strishenets, Senior Conflict and Humanitarian Advocacy Advisor at Save the Children UK, and leading author of the report, said: “Children are paying the highest price in today’s wars - not only at the hands of armed groups, but through the actions of governments that should be protecting them.

“Missiles are falling where children sleep, play, and learn - turning the very places that should keep them safe, like their homes and schools, into death traps. Actions once condemned by the international community and met with global outrage are now brushed aside as the ‘cost of war.’ That moral surrender is one of the most dangerous shifts of our time.”

Treating child blast injuries

In response to a lack of understanding around the impact of blast injuries on children and the specialist care they require, researchers from Imperial, Save the Children, and partners established the Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership in 2018.

Imperial and Save the Children launched the first-of-its-kind Centre for Paediatric Blast Injury Studies at the White City Campus in 2023. The Centre has brought together medics, engineers, pain specialists, operational humanitarians, and prosthetics and rehabilitation experts to work on improving outcomes for those suffering from paediatric blast injury and to deliver resources to medical practitioners in conflict zones.

Children have smaller bodies than adults and developing organs which make them particularly vulnerable to blast injuries. However, children’s distinct medical needs are overlooked in many conflicts, leaving those who survive blasts facing lifelong pain, disability, and severe mental health impacts.

For a growing child, a blast injury is not a one-time wound. It is a lifelong medical challenge that requires longer, more costly and more complex recovery than adults.

The launch of the Centre followed the development of the Paediatric Blast Injury Field Manual by Imperial, Save the Children and collaborators in 2019 – the world’s first manual for medics treating children with blast injuries in conflict zones. The manual has been translated into nine languages and is now used in twelve conflict zones including Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan.

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Read the full report, ‘Children and Blast Injuries: The Devastating Impact of Explosive Weapons on Children, 2020–2025', on Save the Children's website.