An estimated 774 million children across the world – or one third of the world’s child population - are living with the dual impacts of poverty and high climate risk, according to a new report by the humanitarian organization Save the Children International. The countries with the highest proportion of children affected by this double burden are South Sudan (87%), Central African Republic (85%) and Mozambique (80%), the analysis released today says.
The report, based on climate modelling from researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), found that while 80 % of children are estimated to be affected by at least one extreme climate event a year, some are at particular risk because they also face poverty and so have less capacity to protect themselves, adapt and recover. To estimate the number of children living in poverty and affected by high climate risk, the humanitarian organization estimated the proportion of climate-affected children and children affected by poverty in 1,925 subnational regions across 159 countries, covering 98% of the total child population (2.32 billion children).
Save the Children International says that India has the highest total number of children both living in poverty and bearing the brunt of the climate crisis — up to 223 million children in total. It is followed by Nigeria and Ethiopia, with 58 million and 36 million children, respectively, living with this double burden. In addition, across the globe, 183 million children face the triple threat of high climate risk, poverty and conflict. Out of the total child population experiencing this triple burden, the children in Burundi (63%), Afghanistan (55%) and the Central African Republic (41%) are the most affected.
Save the Children International says the climate crisis is a risk-multiplier, eroding children’s and communities’ resilience to shocks. If it is not urgently addressed, the frequency and severity of humanitarian crises are set to increase in the years ahead.
Save the Children is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that campaigns for the rights and protection of children and delivers urgent humanitarian assistance for children worldwide. The NGO was founded in 1919 by the teacher and social reformer Eglantyne Jebb in Britain. Today, Save the Children International consists of 30 country organizations and is active in around 120 countries.
Further information
Full text: “Generation Hope: 2.4 billion reasons to end the global climate and inequality crisis”, report by Save the Children International, released October 26, 2022
https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/pdf/Generation-Hope-Report-GLOBAL-online-version-25-10-22.pdf/
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