malvernmugadzikwa
Online Reporter
CHILDREN are one of the groups that is most vulnerable to the drastic effects of climate change, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has said.
In a statement on the launch of the communication campaign on climate, Unicef Zimbabwe chief of communications Mr Yves Willemot said climate change created a conducive environment for child exploitation and abuse.
“The climate change crisis is a child rights crisis. Climate change is impacting the lives of children worldwide, also in Zimbabwe,” he said.
“It creates scarcity in access to safe water and food, impacts on the health of children, increases children’s vulnerability to exploitation and abuse, and jeopardises their well-being, even threatening their survival.”
Everywhere, he said, children were increasingly exposed to climate or environmental hazards, such as flooding, drought, heatwaves, cyclones, and air pollution.
“As these extreme weather events increase in frequency and ferocity, they threaten children’s lives, jeopardise children’s access to healthy food they need for their development and destroy infrastructure critical to their well-being such as schools, health care facilities and children’s playgrounds,” said Mr Willemot.
He said while children were the least responsible for climate change, they suffer the biggest brunt of climate change.
The campaign is advocating for the inclusion of children in the climate dialogue, so that policies, strategies, plans and budgets are child sensitive.
The campaign seeks the empowerment of children and young people to be environmental stewards and climate change agents, allowing them to realise their potential with full participation.
Bongani Ndlovu