Play and sport after disasters: what the Red Cross, UNICEF and the research say

After a disaster, food, water and shelter come first. But humanitarian guidance is clear that people also need ways to cope together, and play and sport are among them.

What humanitarian guidance says

• Shared activities help people cope. The IFRC's psychosocial centre says that activities people do together, such as social gatherings, meeting over tea, playing games or exchanging news, are important ways of coping with a crisis, and that engaging in recreational or educational activities helps promote psychosocial well-being.
• Child Friendly Spaces. The same centre describes a child friendly space as a safe place where children can meet to play, learn to deal with risks, take part in education and relax, and notes that play contributes to children's cognitive, physical, social and emotional well-being.
• Supplies for play. UNICEF sources and delivers recreation supplies to keep children playing during emergencies.
• Sport in emergencies. A UNICEF Innocenti survey of sport-for-development organizations found close to half (48 per cent) use sport in emergency settings.

What the research says

A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in Frontiers in Public Health pooled studies of sport-, play- and movement-based interventions after disasters and in humanitarian settings. It found favorable small-to-moderate average effects on PTSD, depression and anxiety, while cautioning that confidence is limited by differences between studies, risk of bias and small numbers of outcomes. In short: promising, helpful alongside other support, not a cure.

Japan: gentle exercise in shelters

Japan's health ministry warns that in evacuation shelters, people move less, and older adults especially can gradually lose strength until they can no longer move well. It suggests seasonal activities such as radio calisthenics (rajio taiso, a nationally broadcast exercise routine) to help children keep daily routines. Japan's Sasakawa Sports Foundation notes that short group exercises at set times are widely used in shelters, and that after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, exercise sessions also helped participants talk to each other. It stresses not making it feel compulsory, offering seated exercises, and aiming for about two sessions a day.

Organizing play after a disaster (our suggestions)

• Make everything optional. Invite, don't require.
• Pick games anyone can join: no special fitness, simple rules, little equipment. Mölkky is one example.
• Offer seated options for older adults and people with injuries.
• Keep a routine: the same time each day helps people structure their days.
• For children, keep play supervised and in a safe, defined area.

Related: Disaster drills as games and Balance and fall prevention.