Feature image: Ajoh Majur, 12, uses her body weight to activate a handpump. South Sudan, Photo Credit: Lynsey Addario
Blog by Euphresia Luseka, RWSN Leave No-one Behind Theame Leader
The SDG’s commitment to ‘Leave No One Behind’ means acceleration efforts must focus on reaching the most vulnerable groups; this includes children.
African children are born and grow in the climate crisis.
“Present and future generations of children will bear the brunt of the intensifying effects of the climate crisis throughout their lifetime, these impacts are already occurring,” said UNICEF.
UNICEF estimates that one billion children globally are at “extremely high” risk of suffering from impacts of the climate crisis. The need for action has never been more urgent. The climate crisis is a children’s rights crisis.
Since the adoption of the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989, unprecedented gains have been made for children. However, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2018), Special Report on Global Warming warns the progress risks undermining the escalating climate crisis, which poses an acute threat to children’s survival, development and well-being.
Short-term Thinking as a Triple Threat of Water-Related Crisis is Endangering the Lives of Africa’s Children
On August 2023, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child affirmed children’s right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment under General Comment No. 26. During the 2023 Human Rights Council the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr.Volker Türk, deplored that despite all the alarm bells going off, leaders were still not acting with the determination required and getting “stuck in the short term”.
“If this is not a human rights issue, what is?”, he asked.
Africa is facing a water catastrophe. While the climate and water-related shocks are escalating globally, the risks compound most for children in Africa; 40% of Africa’s population was under 15 years old in 2022. Children in 98 percent of African countries are at the highest risk from a convergence of three water-related threats: Inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene; Its related diseases; and Climate hazards. This is most acute in the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, Somalia, and Guinea-Bissau making West and Central Africa one of the world’s most water-insecure and climate-impacted regions.
Effects of Climate Change In the Water Sector on Children
Children are disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to their developing immune systems, behavioural characteristics, and developmental needs. Africa carries the heaviest burden of child deaths from inadequate WASH access-related diseases including diarrhoea, polio, and cholera. Higher temperatures accelerate pathogen replication in parts of West and Central Africa. Groundwater levels are dropping with wells being dug twice as deep as a decade ago. Rainfall is erratic and intense hence floods contaminate scarce water supplies. In North Africa, children are more exposed to risks related to water scarcity and air pollution. In parts of Western and Eastern Africa, children are more exposed to vector-borne diseases, heatwaves, and riverine flooding. Water and soil pollution affect children across Africa while risks of tropical cyclones and coastal flooding are in specific coastal regions.
Climate change is also driving the weaponization of water, child labour, child marriages, extremism, and forced migration, which can expose children to human trafficking, gender-based violence, abuse, and exploitation. Most of these countries are also classified by the OECD as fragile or extremely fragile, with the stresses of armed conflict threatening to reverse progress towards SDG6. The Sahel and Burkina Faso have seen several attacks on water infrastructure as a tactic to displace communities; more than 830,000 people – over half are children – lost access to safe drinking water in 2022.
The loss of a child’s life is shattering for families and the pain is intensified when it is preventable and caused by the lack of necessities like safe drinking water, toilets, and soap.
Another Chance for Action in Nairobi at the Inaugural Africa Climate Summit and COP28
“We must not leave this for our children to fix – no matter how inspiring their activism,” the UN Chief told the Human Rights Council.
“I ask every Council member to take this message out of the Palais des Nations into every aspect of their work, climate action is the responsibility of today’s leaders” he stressed.
African leaders had a chance to act on this at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit and Africa Climate Week, on September 2023 in Kenya. African children demanded Climate Action issues be addressed by global leaders during the Global Child-led Climate Change Summit Committee side event.
‘‘We seek the world’s support in empowering our voice to highlight climate-induced child rights violations and solutions,’’ said Ellyanne Githae, Africa’s youngest climate finance and biodiversity champion.
They also demanded to be heard on climate change policies and digital empowerment through comprehensive educational reform focusing on climate change to foster green initiatives in schools and African girls’ education and protection from forced marriages.
Also, on their list at COP28 was equitable carbon trade biodiverse investments and inclusive environmental decision-making in Africa. Business models should prioritise children’s rights, health, job creation, and the eradication of poverty.
‘‘We advocate for an intergenerational commission to redefine our social contract and birth a new economy prioritizing our planet. Champion green energy by eliminating solar import duties and boost investments in rural heartlands to ensure sustainable agricultural practices and community upliftment,’’ said Foday Bangura, Vice president – Children’s Forum Network, Sierra Leone.
They implored African leaders to champion global financial reforms, ensure financial accountability and equity through transparent resources allocation for marginalised communities. Climate finance should not support fossil fuel expansion.
Progressive Demands but Show Me the Money and Political Will
“We need a stronger focus of funding towards children to equip them on climate-induced disruptions.” Lieke Wiel, Deputy Director, UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa region.
Attaining Paris Climate goals, requires tremendous political will, investment, technical support, collaboration across borders. Multilateral Climate Funds (MCF) should be targeted better; only 2.4% of its $71 million/year is classified as supporting child-responsive activities and 6.6% inclusive of youth.
Despite the positive increase in child participation at COP28 with accreditation to the ‘blue zone’ which hosts its formal negotiations, the Loss and Damage Fund needs to be child-responsive- by embedding child rights in the fund’s governance and decision-making process including the Global Goal for Adaptation (GGA) and intergeneration equity in the Global Stocktake (GST).
Inflation and economic havoc by the pandemic and constant trade-offs between debt repayment, infrastructure investment and social spending affect Africa’s Governments Child-focused public budgeting. Therefore, National budgets and financing frameworks should prioritize, increase and protect investments on climate proofed water access across all stages of childhood. Africa needs support to increase spending on water access while High-income countries should increase their financing through ODA, climate finance, development lending and equitable and affordable access to financial markets and debt rescheduling; Quality disaggregated data for policies; Timely, predictable and flexible funding to support respond faster to emerging crises, anticipate future risks, and allocate resources where they are needed most.
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