Children in Africa are among the most at risk to climate change — Unicef

The health, development and safety of children in 98 per cent of African countries are severely threatened by the effects of climate change, according to a new report by Unicef.

The report, published ahead of the start of the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi on Monday, found that children in 48 of the 49 African countries for which data is available are at “high” or “extremely high” risk from the extreme weather, illnesses, pollution, and environmental degradation caused by climate change.

Children living in the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, Somalia and Guinea-Bissau face the highest threat, according to the report.

In Somalia, over 20,000 children under the age of five died last year amid the extended drought in the country, according to UN estimates. In Chad, nearly 40 per cent of children under five are stunted, according to the World Food Programme.

The countries most at risk from climate change also have weak health, nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, according to the report. This makes children in these countries even more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, as they are less able to access basic services such as safe drinking water, education, and protective services during extreme weather events.

“It is clear that the youngest members of African society are bearing the brunt of the harsh effects of climate change,” said Lieke van de Wiel, Deputy Director of Unicef’s Eastern and Southern Africa region. “They are the least able to cope, due to physiological vulnerability and poor access to essential social services.”

The report follows revelations made by the Children’s Environmental Rights Initiative, which includes Unicef, in June, which found that just 2.4% of investments by multilateral climate funds (MCFs) in Africa directly support children.

Unicef estimates that one billion children globally are at “extremely high” risk of suffering from the impacts of the climate crisis, which the organization has called a “children’s rights crisis”.

Children are disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, as their developing immune systems, behavioural characteristics and developmental needs make them more susceptible to diseases, food insecurity, water scarcity and air pollution.

In the northern part of Africa, children are more exposed to risks related to water scarcity and air pollution, according to the report. In the western and eastern parts of the continent, children are more exposed to risks related to vector-borne diseases, heatwaves and riverine flooding.

Water and soil pollution, meanwhile, affects children across the entire continent. The risks of tropical cyclones and coastal flooding, however, are concentrated in specific coastal regions, the report said.

Climate change is also driving child labour, child marriage, extremism and forced migration, which can expose children to human trafficking, gender-based violence, abuse and exploitation, the report said. “Children and their families hit by one crisis may be able to absorb the shock provided the crisis is not too severe,” said Unicef.