70% of African countries face climate crisis – Body

SEVENTY per cent of countries facing a high risk of climate impact are in Africa.

  An international advocacy organisation that focuses on the most vulnerable children, Save the Children, gave the warning yesterday.

  According to group that engages countries by championing the rights and interests of children worldwide, the development calls for drastic actions that ensure that children and their families can cope with current and future climate shocks.

  It also noted that already, malaria and dengue fever plague children in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid increasing extreme weather events that can lead to new health risks while the health system is already limited.

  The group, therefore, estimates that globally, over 710 million children live in 45 countries that are at the highest risk of suffering the impact of climate change with floods, droughts, hurricanes and other extreme weather events dealing devastating impact on vulnerable children and their families.

  Children in these countries, the group further warned, will for example be impacted by food shortages, diseases and other health threats, water scarcity, or be at risk from rising water levels – or a combination of these factors. This buttresses an analysis by Save the Children of ND-Gain data that shows that globally, millions of children under the age of 18 are living in regions where climate change is deeply affecting their lives. The impact of the crisis on food production is likely to lead to local food scarcity and price hikes.