Climate change puts children in 98% of African countries at risk, UNICEF warns

AFRICA — A new UNICEF report has raised alarm bells, revealing that 98% of African countries are facing severe threats to the health, development, and safety of their children due to the impacts of climate change.

Published ahead of the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, the report assessed 49 African countries and found that children in 48 of them face “high” or “extremely high” risks stemming from climate-induced extreme weather events, illnesses, pollution, and environmental degradation.

Countries such as the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, Somalia, and Guinea-Bissau were identified as the most vulnerable, with the report citing alarming statistics.

For instance, Somalia witnessed over 20,000 deaths among children under the age of five due to an extended drought last year, while nearly 40% of children under five in Chad suffer from stunted growth.

The vulnerability of these countries is compounded by weak health, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, making it challenging for children to access essential services during extreme weather events.

UNICEF’s Deputy Director of Eastern and Southern Africa, Lieke van de Wiel, emphasized that Africa’s youngest citizens bear the harshest brunt of climate change due to their physiological vulnerability and limited access to crucial social services.

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

Children are disproportionately affected by climate change due to their developing immune systems, behavioral characteristics, and developmental needs, making them more susceptible to diseases, food insecurity, water scarcity, and air pollution.

Different regions in Africa face varying climate risks, such as water scarcity and air pollution in the north, vector-borne diseases and heatwaves in the west and east, and pollution affecting the entire continent.

Climate change is also exacerbating child labor, child marriage, extremism, and forced migration, leading to human trafficking, gender-based violence, abuse, and exploitation.

The report stressed the need for international cooperation to address these challenges. A UN Development Programme report earlier this year highlighted the economic opportunity, rather than religious ideology, as the primary driver of violent extremist groups in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Climate change accelerates the expansion of these groups, further endangering women and children.

Extreme weather events, like those affecting Lake Chad, have led to crop and fish population destruction, pushing young men to join extremist groups to provide for their families.

The shrinking of Lake Chad by more than 90% in the past 40 years due to climate change has caused widespread food insecurity and poverty in the region.

UNICEF called for the meaningful inclusion of children’s voices in climate decision-making, highlighting that young people constitute Africa’s “greatest natural resource” in the fight against climate change.

The right of children to participate in decisions affecting their future is recognized under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The inaugural Africa Climate Summit, taking place in Nairobi, provides an opportunity for African leaders to address these findings.

The summit aims to define Africa’s position on climate action, with a focus on securing new financial commitments from wealthy nations to meet the US$100 billion climate finance goal set in 2009.

Notable attendees at the summit include UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, US climate envoy John Kerry, COP28 Director-General Majid Al Suwaidi, and COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber.

Kenyan President William Ruto hopes to rally African leaders around the Nairobi Declaration on Green Growth and Climate Finance, setting the stage for a “new green industrial age” in Africa.

As climate change continues to pose dire threats to Africa’s children, their active involvement in climate solutions becomes increasingly imperative.

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