Climate change could kill 250,000 children next year, and the figure could rise to more than 400,000 by 2030, according to Save the Children.
Louise Gray, The Telegraph 2 Nov 09;
The charity warns that over 900 million children in the next generation will be affected by water shortages and 160 million more children will be at risk of catching malaria – one of the biggest killers of children under five – as it spreads to new parts of the world.
In a new report Save the Children claims that climate change is the biggest global health threat to children in the 21st century as droughts and floods force families to leave their homes and children to drop out of school. Starvation and economic collapse caused by natural disasters could even lead to more child trafficking and child labour.
The charity predicts that 175 million children a year – equivalent to almost three times the population of Great Britain – will suffer the consequences of natural disasters like cyclones, droughts and floods by 2030.
Midge Ure, Save the Children ambassador, said he has already seen children in East African countries dying because of droughts.
“I’ve seen how vulnerable children are to the effects of climate change. Erratic rainfall means farmers can no longer predict the weather and have lost their crops which are a vital source of food for their family," he said.
David Mepham, Save the Children’s Director of Policy, called on world leaders to agree a tough deal on tacking climate change at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December.
"This is not just Africa’s problem, it affects everyone," he said. "Climate change is a ticking time bomb. Global leaders need to act now to stop the needless deaths of millions of children."
