- Globally, 774 million children fall into this high-risk group, according to the report.
- The report also shows how these multiple, overlapping risks are linked to and exacerbate the current global food, nutrition and cost-of-living crisis
Sixteen million children are bearing the double brunt of poverty and climate disaster, a new report has shown.
A report by Save the Children warns that if the climate and inequality crisis is not addressed with urgency, the frequency and severity of humanitarian and cost of living crises are set to soar.
The report, ‘Generation Hope: 2.4 billion reasons to end the global climate and inequality crisis’ released on Thursday, ranks Kenya third in East and Southern Africa and 10th in the world, in the overall number of children facing the double threat.
Fourteen-year-old Kassim from Garissa says climate change has affected them. They can barely afford to feed.
The county is among those that have experienced prolonged drought after four failed rain seasons.
“We are experiencing a prolonged drought and people are struggling to get maize because of high food prices,” he said.
“The gap between the rich and poor is increasing. I call on the government to create more forums where we can talk about climate change and social inequality.”
The report shows that while more than 21 million children in Kenya are estimated to be affected by at least one extreme climate event a year, some of them are at particular risk because they are living in poverty and have fewer resources to protect themselves and recover.
“The climate emergency and issues of inequality are deeply connected, and cannot be dealt with in isolation from each other. In Kenya, this connection could not be any more obvious,” Kenya and Madagascar country director Yvonne Arunga said.
“Crises like these push people even deeper into grinding poverty and leave millions of people even more vulnerable to the next flood or drought.”
The report was developed by Save the Children with climate modelling from researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
The report builds on ground-breaking research published by the two organisations in 2021 which found that Kenyan children born in 2020 will on average face 4.6 times more droughts during their lives than their grandparents.
The director said the devastating drought being witnessed in Kenya and the larger Horn of Africa is the worst in 40 years and has hit the poorest parts of the country, leaving millions of people hungry and displaced.
Globally, 774 million children fall into this high-risk group, according to the report.
The report also shows how these multiple, overlapping risks are linked to and exacerbate the current global food, nutrition and cost-of-living crisis that is causing 345 million people in 82 countries to face a severe lack of food.
“As leaders prepare to travel to the COP27 and G20 summits in November, our most vulnerable children should be at the forefront of their minds,” she said.
Arunga said the world’s richest country, whose historic emissions have driven the climate and inequality crisis, must lead the way in unlocking trillions in financing for countries that are struggling to protect their children from its impacts.
These, she said, should include climate finance - particularly for adaptation and loss and damage.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris