ASHENEWS reports that Nigeria’s 110 million children are worst hit by climate shocks, an analysis by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed.
The UNICEF, in its Climate Landscape Analysis for Children in Nigeria report released on Monday, observed that several factors contribute to the high vulnerability of children to climate change in the country.
The report observed that Nigeria’s child population accounts for 10 percent of the 1 billion children worldwide who live in extremely high-risk countries.
“Across Nigeria, children’s exposure to flooding, drought, and rising temperatures threatens their health and nutrition and access to education, protection and water, sanitation and hygiene services.
“With just 55.4 percent of the total population benefiting from access to electricity, energy poverty seriously impacts children’s education, health, and access to water.
“Land, water, and air pollution present increased risks to children’s health including gastrointestinal illnesses, vector-borne diseases, respiratory diseases, and damage to cognitive function and learning ability.
“Worsening droughts, deforestation, and poor land management practices are becoming drivers for desertification and subsequent migration, displacement, and insecurity, especially in Nigeria’s northern areas where farmer and herder disputes persist,” the report said.
The Climate Landscape Analysis for Children in Nigeria highlights key climate risks to children and provides an overview of the multi-sectoral climate mitigation and adaptation actions that UNICEF intends to implement in Nigeria from 2023–2027.
The document also highlighted UNICEF’s climate action plan for its programs in Nigeria ranging from education, child protection, nutrition, emergency, health, social policy, social and behavior change as well as water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Others include office greening action plans, communication, and advocacy as well as program monitoring and reporting.
