United Nations warns of climate change impacts on Africa's youth and children

2 September 2023 (UN) Children in Africa are among those most at risk from the effects of climate change, but they are woefully neglected in terms of the funding needed to help them adapt, survive and respond to the climate crisis, UNICEF said.

In a report released Friday, the UN agency classified children in 48 of the 49 African countries assessed as at "significant or very high risk" of climate change impacts based on their vulnerability to climate and environmental shocks, such as hurricanes and heat waves, as well as their vulnerability to those shocks.

In its report, UNICEF said children in the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, Somalia and Guinea-Bissau were most at risk.

 The report also revealed that only 2.4 percent of multilateral climate finance can be classified as supporting child-responsive activities, equivalent on average to about $71 million per year, and when youth are included, the figure rises to only 6.6 percent of funding.

Leckie van de Weil, UNICEF Deputy Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said: "It is clear that the youngest members of the African community bear the brunt of the harsh effects of climate change. They are the least able to adapt, due to their physiological vulnerability and poor access to basic social services. "We need a stronger focus of funding on this group, so that it is equipped to face a life full of disruptions caused by climate change."

UNICEF drew attention to the fact that despite significant progress by almost all countries in the provision of basic services, persistent challenges contribute to children's vulnerability, including limited access to high-quality health and nutrition services, lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene, limited access to quality education and high levels of poverty.