UNICEF Warns Of Climate Risk On Nigerian Children

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said Nigeria is the second worst country with a climate risk index on children with environmental degradation threatening their overall well-being.

The chief UNICEF field officer in Kano, Mr Rahma Farah made this known during an event to commemorate the World Environment Day organised in partnership with the Kano State Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, SUBEB and Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency at the Hasiya Bayero Government Girls, JSS, Kano.

According to him, 40 percent of the world’s population is impacted by land degradation and millions of people are directly affected by droughts annually.

He said that desertification and land degradation are critical issues in Nigeria, particularly in the north where rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall have exacerbated erosion and reduced agricultural productivity.

Farah explained that the impact affects children the most. “When land becomes infertile and water sources dry up, it is children who bear the burden of the consequences.

“They face food insecurity, malnutrition and water scarcity, conditions that stifle their growth and development.

“Girls, in particular, are disproportionately affected as they are frequently tasked with fetching water, which not only disrupts their education but also exposes them to the risk of violence.

“According to the UNICEF Climate Landscape Analysis for Children (CLAC, 2023) report, Nigeria ranks second worst in the world on the Children’s Climate Risk Index,” he said.

Farah further highlighted that UNICEF Field Office in Kano is partnering with state governments (Kano, Jigawa and Katsina) to address climate change impact among school children through sensitisation, tree planting, construction of WASH facilities in schools, drainage clearing, among others.

In his remarks, Kano State commissioner for environment and climate change, Nasiru Garo, said that the choice of school to mark the event was to educate students on the impact of climate change and be ambassadors of it.

He urged the public to desist from felling of trees but cultivate the act of protecting the environment such as planting of trees.