Unequal Impact: How Climate Change Endangers Children's Rights

Children also bear the impact of climate due to their unique vulnerabilities, which steam from three primary factors: higher physical susceptibility to health risks, limited access to resources in marginalized communities, and psychological distress caused by climate-related displacement.

Physical Susceptibility to Health Risks

Due to their unique metabolism, physiology, and developmental needs, children are particularly vulnerable to environmental shifts, including climate-induced changes in temperature, air quality, water quality, and food security. Compared to adults, children's bodies and immune systems are less resilient to environmental stressors, leading to heightened risks of respiratory illnesses from air pollution, malnutrition from crop failures, and heat stress or dehydration from rising temperatures. For example, the recent drought in East Africa has left at least 1.8 million children under five acutely malnourished in Somalia, and 1.9 million children in Kenya. These impacts directly threaten children's rights to health, adequate nutrition, and life.

Limited Access to Resources in Marginalized Communities

Children in marginalized communities often face increase exposure to climate hazards due to social and economic disadvantages. Many of these communities, constrained by poverty, reside in areas vulnerables to floods, droughts, or other climate-induced events. Limited access to essential resources - such as health care, clean water, and education - worsen the situations, as families struggle to recover from climate-related disruptions. The right to education is particularly at risk, economic hardships may force children into early marriage or child labor, compromising their futures and perpetuating cycles of poverty.

Psychological Distress from Climate-Related Displacement

Climate disasters such as floods, droughts, or hurricanes can displace children from their homes, disrupting their lives, interrupting education, breaking up families, and causing psychological distress. These factors significantly affect children's emotional well-being and overall development. Between 2016 and 2021, over 1.3 million children were displaced across 15 countries due to droughts alone. More than half—730,000—were recorded in Somalia, with another 340,000 in Ethiopia and 190,000 in Afghanistan (UNICEF, 2023).