Protect children from climate change risks and disasters

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Protect children from climate change risks and disasters
Protect children from climate change risks and disasters

By Morris Makabe

Africa-Press – Mauritius. Africa bears the heaviest burden from climate change, with many countries losing more than 2.5 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product annually due to its effects.

According to a recent publication by the World Meteorological Organisation on the State of the Climate in Africa, if we don’t act now, as many as 118 million poor people could suffer from droughts, floods, and extreme heat by 2030. Unfortunately, the people most affected by these disasters are often the ones who contribute the least to the problem, and among them, children are the most vulnerable.

Unicef reports about one billion children worldwide are at extremely high risk due to the impacts of climate change. The observation of this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on October 13 was themed “The Role of Education in Protecting and Empowering Children for a Safer Future.” This reminds us to emphasise how climate change harms children and what we can do to protect them from future disasters.

Children are particularly at risk during climate disasters because they are more likely to suffer from injuries, disabilities, and even death. They are also often greatly affected mentally and physically because of the traumatic experiences they are subjected to during disasters. Moreover, climate change worsens the leading causes of death for children: malnutrition, diarrhoea, and malaria. These problems are intensifying as the climate change situation worsens.

A recent report from World Vision highlights that climate change affects people’s ability to feed themselves, and children will suffer most, often leading to other complications.

In most Sub-Saharan countries, where the poorest children are struggling to survive, the impacts of climate change make it worse.

They are not able to get necessary nutrition and suffer health care. Further, they lose their chance to get a proper education, meaning they cannot escape the poverty cycle.

In 1989, world leaders took a bold step to protect children by adopting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, setting out fundamental rights of all children, including the right to be protected from harm.

Since then, many countries have created national strategies to protect children from various dangers. However, as climate change continues to increase the frequency and severity of disasters, it is necessary to revisit these strategies and adjust them to meet the new challenges children face.

One way to protect children is to ensure that children-specific protection strategies are developed and implemented at all levels.

They must also be integrated with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies. Countries need to ensure their plans specifically address protecting children during cries.

Additionally, children should be empowered early and given equal opportunities to participate in disaster risk reduction efforts. By re-evaluating their education, certain disaster risk reduction strategies can be introduced to curriculums to ensure they are well-informed and participate equally.

In arid and semi-arid regions, where the effects of climate change are the highest, disaster risk reduction strategies must refocus on how best to protect children.

As we approach the end of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-30), it’s time to evaluate our progress. The framework’s goal is to reduce disaster risk and build resilience worldwide.

However, with the worsening impacts of climate change, it is urgent to strategise and put children and other vulnerable populations at the centre of disaster planning.

In conclusion, the fight against climate change must include more than discussions in workshops and conferences to develop strategies that take years to implement and sometimes end up stored on the internet. It must also not be only about protecting the environment and natural resources. It must go beyond that to include one of the most vulnerable groups, children.

All stakeholders, including governments, development partners, the private sector, and communities, must prioritise children in their disaster risk reduction strategies, without which we will have no future.

Besides this, children must be empowered through educational programmes as critical contributors to climate change mitigation. Protecting children from the dangers of climate change must be a top priority for all governments and stakeholders, especially in Africa.

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