UN official calls for action to shield children from climate disasters

GENEVA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- At least 27.7 million children had been affected this year by floodings and other climate change related catastrophic events that occurred in 27 countries worldwide, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday.

These children had been exposed to a multitude of threats including death by drowning, disease outbreaks, lack of safe drinking water, malnutrition, disruption in learning, and violence, the organization said.

While attending the United Nations Climate Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Paloma Escudero, global director of communications and advocacy at the UNICEF, told journalists via a video link that she was working with youth climate activists from around the world to put the spotlight on the impact of the climate crisis on the vulnerability of children.

In Pakistan, the worst floods in 100 years had killed at least 615 children, and left 10 million children in need of immediate, lifesaving support, she said.

She added that close to 1.6 million children in flood areas in Pakistan could be suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

"One had to be in Pakistan to understand the scope of the devastation," Escudero said.

In Africa, too, children were paying the price for a climate disaster for which they are not responsible, she said.

She urged the political and business leaders of the world to take immediate action to protect children from climate related devastation by adapting the critical social services they rely on, and to prepare children for a changing world by teaching them how to respond to disasters and equipping them with green skills for future jobs.

"In 2021, developed countries pledged to double support for adaptation to 40 billion U.S. dollars a year by 2025. At COP27, they must present a credible roadmap with clear milestones on how this would be funded, as a step to delivering at least 300 billion U.S. dollars per year for adaptation by 2030," Escudero said.