Climate-related disasters could affect 175 mln children - UNICEF
GENEVA: UN Children’s Fund UNICEF on Tuesday warned that 175
million children could soon be affected by climate-related disasters, as
its appeal for funding soared past the one billion dollar mark.
UNICEF said its 2009 humanitarian funding appeal for emergencies in
36 countries had risen by 17 percent over last year mainly due to the
impact of droughts and conflicts in eastern and southern Africa.
In its report on action for 2009, UNICEF underlined that about half
of the one billion dollars (770 million euros) would go to five
emergencies in Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia,
Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Executive Director Ann Veneman said many of the places it was
targeting were otherwise “silent or forgotten emergencies.”
“Women and children are dying every day due to disease, poverty and
hunger, but sadly their deaths go largely unnoticed,” she added.
But the children’s agency also gave warning of the present and
growing impact of climate change. Recent studies indicated that the risk
of hunger could increase for some 50 million people worldwide as a
result of climate change and as early as next year, according to UNICEF.
It backed estimates that within the next decade, children and women
would account for 65 percent of those whose lives are seriously
disrupted by climate-related disasters. “If these predictions prove
correct, some 175 million victims of climate change will be children,”
the agency said in a statement.
Already the number and severity of natural disasters - which includes
climate-related events - has “increased significantly,” it warned.
Thursday, AFP
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