Children bear the brunt of climate change

Children will be severely affected by climate change in Eastern and Southern Africa, warns a report released by Plan and Practical Action. The effects of climate conditions are becoming visible by the day, and children are experiencing them the most, the report states. Children bear a disproportionate burden of the consequences of climate change such as an increase in hunger, disease, population displacements and resource-based conflicts. For example, the report says, the time spent to access safe water is increasing.

For 75% of the households in the study it required 30 minutes to get to a water source and for 18% it took between two and three hours. Women (63%) and children under five years (25%) were more affected by water shortages. ‘Sometimes women have to camp overnight near the waterholes until they fill up again, exposing them to a series of risks,’ the report says.

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Vietnam: Climate change and a mountain community

Children from the remote mountainous regions of Ha Giang, Vietnam, speak out in this film about how climate change is affecting their lives and what they are doing to protect themselves.

Flash floods and landslides are now more common, while warmer summers mean they sometimes have to walk 2 to 3km to collect water.

Children from ethnic minorities played a leading role in making the film, which was produced as part of Plan's climate change adaptation programme and funded by AusAID.

Plan works with children and their communities to help them build up resilience and cope better with the impact of disasters and climate change.

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