In Latin America and the Caribbean, 39 million minors are threatened by extreme weather events, poverty and conflicts, the global NGO Save de Children said Wednesday, calling on world leaders to urgently increase their commitment to reduce emissions. and care for children.
A new study by this non-governmental organization revealed that 80% of children and adolescents living in the Latin American and Caribbean region are affected by at least one extreme weather event per year.
According to the study, some of these children are at particular risk because they also face poverty and are therefore less able to protect themselves and recover, and one in three is also at the mercy of conflict, that is, a third threat, in which they are often forced to move exposing themselves to more violence, exploitation and abuse.
"Save the Children affirms that the climate and inequalities crisis is a risk multiplier that decreases the resilience of children, adolescents and communities to crises. If not addressed urgently, the frequency and severity of humanitarian and cost-of-living crises are projected to increase in the coming years."said the NGO in a statement released in Panama.
Thus, the director of Save The Children International, Inger Ashing, asked world leaders to prepare to participate in the upcoming meetings of COP27 and the G20 "have rights and voices" of childhood and adolescence "first".
"In particular, the world’s richest countries, whose historic emissions have fueled the inequality and climate crisis, must lead the way in freeing up finance for countries that are struggling to protect children from its impacts."Ashing added.
Save the Children said the new report "is based on pioneering research published" by the NGO "in collaboration with the Free University of Brussels in 2021, which found that children and adolescents born in 2020 will face an average of seven times more scorching heat waves during their lifetime than their grandparents, and that newborns around the world will experience an average of 2.6 times more droughts".
This document arrives when "families around the world are struggling with the worst global hunger crisis of this century, fueled by a deadly mix of poverty, conflict, climate change and economic shocks, with the lingering effects of the covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis driving up food prices and the cost of living even higher".
"The current global food, nutrition and cost-of-living crisis is causing 354 million people in 82 countries to face severe food shortages."said the NGO.
