SOS Social and Medical Centres

SOS Medical and Social Centres

SOS Children is the world’s largest orphan charity. We directly help 50,000 children in our family-based SOS Children's Villages in 125 countries around the world. We give children who have nothing and no one a family, a home, an education and a future.

SOS Children also helps more than 500,000 orphaned and vulnerable children and their families in the communities near the villages. Much of this work is done through SOS Medical Centres and SOS Social Centres. Typically, Medical Centres mainly offer medical care to the community managed by a doctor and Social Centres offer a wider range of projects and have nurse led clinics in them. The work of the centres meets local needs - helping to strengthen families and to prevent the abandonment of children.

SOS Medical Centres

There are 60 SOS Medical Centres – 30 in Africa, 9 in Latin America, 12 in Asia and the rest in Eastern Europe. Between them they see over 350,000 patients every year. That’s over 100 patients in every medical centre every week of the year. SOS Medical Centres meet the basic medical needs of the local communities. In addition they help to improve the standard of health in the communities, to reduce infant mortality and to prevent disease through immunisation and education. Their work has become especially relevant in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS and related illnesses not only in Southern Africa but also in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

You can find basic information and photographs of the SOS Medical Centres on this site.

SOS Social Centres

There are 160 SOS Social Centre – 60 in Africa, 57 in Latin America, 40 in Asia and 9 in Eastern Europe. Between them they help over 100,000 orphaned and vulnerable children and their families. SOS Social Centres help families, especially women and children, to escape from the poverty trap. They also help young people to become independent. In addition they help communities to help themselves. Each SOS Social Centre is designed to meet local needs. For example in Belarus, the SOS Social Centre helps children and families affected by radiation sickness after the nuclear reactor disaster at Chernobyl in 1986.

You can find basic information and photographs of the SOS Social Centres on this site. Alphabetical List of Social and Medical Centres
See about SOS Children for details of how to help.