WelCom October 2023
The humanitarian organisation, Save the Children, has reported close to two million children in sub-Saharan Africa were displaced in their own countries last year due to climate change-related disasters, nearly doubling the number of the previous year.
According to Save the Children, at least 1.85 million children in sub-Saharan Africa were left displaced by climate induced disasters at the end of 2022, compared with one million children left displaced by similar crises in 2021. All of these children were still living away from home by the end of the year, whether they had been uprooted from their homes numerous times or just once, in camps, with relatives, or in other temporary arrangements – losing ready access to healthcare, education, food and safety, as well as the building blocks for mental and emotional stability and well-being.
This is the highest annual number of new displacements from climate disasters ever reported for the region, reports Save the Children.
‘These figures are enough to bring anyone to a standstill and hopefully spur leaders at Africa Climate Week [ACW] to wake up to the experiences of children across the region, acknowledge the climate crisis is having a disastrous impact on their lives, and act urgently to factor in children’s needs and rights into the much-needed response,’ said Kijala Shako of Save the Children’s East and Southern Africa Regional Office.
ACW 2023 took place 4–8 September in Nairobi, Kenya, alongside the Africa Climate Summit (ACS), for African leaders, to build momentum ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference COP 28 in Dubai, 30 November–12 December 2023.
Source: La Croix International