Some 27.7 million children are at high risk of death by drowning, disease outbreaks, lack of safe drinking water, malnutrition, disruption in learning, and violence due to heavy floods across the world in 2022, said Paloma Escudero, head of the UNICEF delegation for COP27.
“We are seeing unprecedented levels of flooding all around the world this year, and with it, an explosion in threats to children,” read a UNICEF release citing Escudero.
In many places, the flooding is the worst it has been in a generation or several, she mentioned, adding, "Our children are already suffering at a scale their parents never did,"
This year, floods have contributed to the increased spread of major killers of children, such as malnutrition, malaria, cholera and diarrhoea, the release read.
“COP27 provides an opportunity to chart a credible roadmap with clear milestones for finance for climate adaptation and solutions for loss and damage,” Paloma Escudero added.
As well as pressing governments and big businesses to rapidly reduce emissions, UNICEF urges leaders to take immediate action to protect children from climate devastation by adapting the critical social services they rely on. Adaptation measures, like creating water, health and education systems that stand up to flooding and drought, will save lives.
Last year, developed countries agreed to double support for adaptation to $40 billion a year by 2025. At COP27, they must present a credible roadmap with clear milestones on how this will be delivered, as a step to delivering at least $300 billion per year for adaptation by 2030. At least half of all climate finance should flow towards adaptation.
UNICEF also urges parties to find solutions to support those who will face climate losses and damages beyond the limits of what communities can adapt to. It is calling on governments to close the financial gap for addressing these irreversible changes for children.
The organisation's immediate humanitarian response to flood-affected countries is wide-ranging across all sectors: health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), child protection, and education. A lack of funding, however, has hampered the response in many countries. For instance, the funding gap for the humanitarian response in Pakistan currently stands at 85 per cent.
The UN sub-body is working to strengthen the resilience of communities and health infrastructure to withstand disaster-related hazards, and increasingly linking our work on humanitarian response and longer-term climate adaptation.
