Children stand in front of roofs of houses destroyed by floods in the Yusuf Batir refugee camp in Maban, South Sudan, November 25, 2019. (Photo by AFP/ARCHIVES)
By La Croix (with AFP)
Oct 11 2023
Floods, storms, droughts…
Climate change-driven disasters have led to 43.1 million child displacements between 2016 and 2021, and this is only “the tip of the iceberg,” warns UNICEF, lamenting the lack of attention paid to these “invisible” victims.
In its recently published report, the UN children’s agency tells the story of Juana, who was 9 years old in 2020 when the city she lived in Guatemala submerged by water after hurricanes Eta and Iota.
And there is also the story of young sisters Mia and Maia, whose mobile home was destroyed by flames in California.
“We moved our belongings onto the highway, where we lived for weeks. We could only access the village using a boat for more of our belongings. Many houses were damaged including ours,” recounts Abdul Azim, a Sudanese child whose village was flooded in August 2022.
“Invisible”
Statistics on internal displacements related to climate disasters typically do not account for ages, but UNICEF has collaborated, notably with the NGO Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, to get such data and ensure that children are no longer “invisible.”
Between 2016 and 2021, four types of climate disasters (floods, storms, droughts, fires), whose frequency and intensity are increasing due to global warming, have resulted in 43.1 million child displacements within 44 countries, with 95% of them being related to floods and storms, according to the report.
“This is equivalent to about 20,000 child displacements per day,” says Laura Healy, one of the authors, emphasizing that these minors are exposed to multiple risks, from potential family separation to child trafficking networks.
Its data counts the number of child displacements and not the number of displaced children, with the same child potentially being displaced multiple times. It also does not distinguish between pre-event evacuations and displacements following weather events. The report states that it “radically” underestimates displacements related to droughts, which occur more slowly and are therefore more difficult to monitor, and do not include migrations.
“This is only the tip of the iceberg, based on available data.
The reality is that, with the impact of climate change and better tracking of displacements for slower weather events, the number of uprooted children will be much greater,” emphasizes Healy.
“Too slowly”
The report presents partial projections for specific events. Floods solely related to river overflow could lead to 96 million child displacements in the next 30 years, cyclonic winds 10.3 million, and storm-related marine submersions 7.2 million. These numbers do not include preventive evacuations.
“For those forced to flee, the fear and repercussions of such disasters can be particularly devastating, with the worry of whether they will ever be able to return home, resume school, or if they will be compelled to leave again,” emphasizes UNICEF’s chief, Catherine Russell, in a statement.
“Displacement may have saved their lives, but it’s a very destabilizing change,” she adds. “We have the tools and knowledge needed to address this growing challenge facing children, but we are acting far too slowly.”
UNICEF calls on world leaders to address this issue at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai in a few weeks.
It is crucial to prepare these children, including those who are already uprooted, “to live in a world where the climate has changed,” said Healy.
Even though the growing impact of climate change are felt everywhere, the report highlights particularly vulnerable areas.
Thus, the Philippines, India, and China are the most affected countries in absolute numbers (nearly 23 million child displacements in six years) due to their large populations, geographical location, and preventive evacuation plans.
However, when looking at the proportion of displaced children, it highlights the vulnerability of Africa and small islands.
Dominican Republic, for instance, saw 76% of its children displaced in six years, Cuba and Saint-Martin over 30%, Vanuatu 25%, and the Philippines 23%. – La Croix International
