Climate change and impacts

What’s happening in the Horn of Africa?, A prolonged drought across large swathes of Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya has unleashed hunger, thirst, displacement and death on already vulnerable communities as crops fail and livestock die. Communities have been forced to take extreme measures to survive, with thousands of children and families leaving their homes out of pure desperation in…, Recent news and features, How are children affected?, Consecutive seasons of poor rainfall has killed crops, animals and livestock, resulting in the loss of nutritious food. This, coupled with poor access to safe water and sanitation, has left many children at a high risk of malnutrition. As a result, the number of children in the Horn of Africa region who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition…, Learn about UNICEF’s work in the Horn of Africa, Djibouti, Find out more, Eritrea, Find out more, Ethiopia, Find out more, Kenya, Find out more, Somalia, Find out more, Eastern and Southern Africa, Find out more, How is UNICEF responding to climate crises in the region?, UNICEF is working to ensure that drought-affected children and families can receive the lifesaving support they so urgently need, while also supporting their recovery and building resilience against future shocks. Somalia. A mobile health and nutrition team provides treatment for internally displaced persons at a camp in Mogadishu. A mobile health…, UNICEF is working with partners to:, Provide access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. This includes emergency water trucking, urgent rehabilitation and repairs of water supply systems, drilling new boreholes, and hygiene promotion activities. Ensure access to nutritional support. This includes increasing procurement of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and expanding the…, What next?, In July 2022, UNICEF  launched a regional call to action to address the drought crisis. Thanks to early and rapid interventions by partners and donors in 2022, UNICEF provided lifesaving aid to children and communities across the region.  But food insecurity and other needs remain high due to the sheer magnitude of the crisis and the years of…

NAIROBI/NEW YORK, 20 October 2022 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra Jonas travelled to northern Kenya this week to meet children suffering from severe acute malnutrition as a result of prolonged drought across the Horn of Africa. During the two-day visit, Chopra Jonas travelled to Turkana County – among 15 drought-affected counties in…

The climate crisis is rapidly accelerating and with it, heatwaves are becoming longer, stronger, more widespread and more frequent. Already, around 559 million children are exposed to high heatwave frequency and around 624 million children are exposed to one of three other high heat measures - high heatwave duration, high heatwave severity or…

JAFARABAD, Pakistan – From a distance, the scene looks harmless. We’re driving along an elevated road through Jafarabad, a district in Balochistan, in the southwest of Pakistan, that is surrounded by water that stretches as far as the eye can see. But these waters shouldn’t be here, and beneath their stagnant surface lay the remains of homes and…

GENEVA/ISLAMABAD, 7 October 2022 – “Pakistan’s catastrophic floods have already claimed the lives of 615 children. Right now, almost 10 million children are now in need of immediate, lifesaving support. It is a staggering number; indeed the scale of need is daunting. And with a heavy heart, I must state that more children will die in the coming…

NEW YORK, 21 September 2022 - "Excellencies, distinguished guests, colleagues, "I am very happy to welcome you to UNICEF for this critical discussion. "I want to begin by thanking Administrator Samantha Power and the United States Government for their unflagging support of the most vulnerable children, and for co-hosting this event. "I am deeply…

NEW YORK, 21 September 2022 — Governments, philanthropies, and private donors have pledged approximately US$577 million since July in response to the deepening child malnutrition crisis – with at least 60 per cent of that amount committed to directly supporting UNICEF’s work. Roughly US$280 million of the over half billion raised was pledged today…

NEW YORK, 15 September 2022 – 25-year-old Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate has been appointed as the newest UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, affirming her collaboration with the organisation and recognising her outstanding global advocacy for climate justice for current and future generations. Nakate travelled last week with UNICEF to Turkana…

With the climate crisis here and accelerating, every child on every continent is facing more frequent, severe,  and destructive climate hazards including air pollution, water scarcity, heatwaves, vector-borne disease, cyclones, and river and coastal flooding. There is a brief window of time to avoid the very worst of the climate crisis, and…

Consecutive years of below-average rainfall in the Horn of Africa have created one of the worst climate-related emergencies of the past 40 years. The protracted drought is forcing families to leave their homes in search of food and water, putting their health, safety and education at risk. Over 20 million people, including 10 million children, in…, Forced to abandon home, 10-year-old Hibo carries water in a jerrycan to her temporary home in an IDP camp in Somalia 10-year-old Hibo carries water in a jerrycan to her temporary home in a camp for internally displaced people in Somalia. “We left our home in Guriel and walked for 10 days to reach Kaharey camp," she says. The scale of the displacement is immense – Somalia…, Daily life rationed, Hafsa Bedel, a mother of six, is struggling to save the lives of her young camels. Hafsa Bedel, a mother of six, is struggling to save the lives of her young camels in Ethiopia. Having already lost 25 livestock, she keeps them close to home for fear of them not finding food and water. “I can’t afford to feed them corn. We don’t even have enough…, A question of survival, Muna holds her baby Sukra in a UNICEF-supported Stabilisation Centre treating children with malnutrition in Somalia. Baby Sukra at a UNICEF-supported centre where children are treated for malnutrition in Somalia. Poor access to safe water jeopardizes a child’s chance of survival. Water scarcity increases the risk of diarrhoea, a major killer of…, Education on hold, Drought is affecting school attendance in the affected areas. Overall, 15 million children in the Horn of Africa are now out of school and an additional estimated 3.3 million children are at risk of dropping out due to drought.   Abdurazak Mohammed, a sixth grader, takes his donkeys back home at dusk Abdurazak Mohammed, a sixth grader, takes his…, Responding to the crisis, UNICEF and partners are providing life-saving services to children and their families in dire need across the Horn of Africa. We are on the ground providing essential health, nutrition, education and child protection services. To provide longer term solutions, we’re working to improve access to climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene…, What needs to happen, UNICEF has launched a regional call to action to address the drought crisis. If immediate funding needs are met, life-saving support may avert catastrophic consequences. But recurrent droughts and increasing water insecurity need long-term investments in water, sanitation and hygiene services, water management, and climate-proof infrastructure. …

NAIROBI, 29 June 2022 - Girls as young as twelve are being forced into child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) at “alarming rates” in the Horn of Africa, as the most severe drought in forty years pushes families to the edge – warns UNICEF. In the regions of Ethiopia worst affected by the drought, child marriage has on average more than…

BERLIN, 24 June 2022 – "Excellencies, Colleagues, Friends, "It is an honor to join you today – at an urgent moment for the world’s most vulnerable children. "From UNICEF’s perspective, it is a crisis like no other. The COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, and climate change are creating the conditions for severe food insecurity, now exacerbated by the…