Havana. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday that floods have put at least 27.7 million babies around the planet at risk during the current year.
The UN agency noted that these minors are at risk of drowning, disease, lack of drinking water, malnutrition, violence and interruption of learning activities.
In the context of COP27, which is currently taking place in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, the head of the agency’s delegation for the care and protection of children, Paloma Escudero, said that children have become one of the most populated areas. Sensitive to the increase in floods recorded during the current year globally.
“In many places, the flood is the worst in a generation or several. Our children are already suffering on such a massive scale that their parents never suffered.”
The unit’s data highlighted that floods have increased the likelihood of outbreaks of some of the main causes of infant mortality such as cholera, malnutrition and malaria.
UNICEF cited the example of countries such as Chad, Pakistan or Malawi that have suffered or suffered from the effects of the floods, and stressed that many infants were affected by food insecurity and the mentioned diseases.
In Malawi, for example, of the 203 people who died from the latest cholera outbreak, 28 were children and 1,631 were infected with the disease.
In Yemen, one of the countries hardest hit by the economic and social crisis, floods partially or completely affected at least 73,800 homes.
“Young people in the hardest places on Earth are sinking into climate inaction. Enough is enough. Lives are at stake: children need action now”, said a UNICEF official at COP27.
To conclude, the Children’s Rights Protection Organization called for urgent solutions to combat the damage caused by environmental destruction and urged the poorest countries to work together to help them and the most developed countries. The gap can be bridged.
