Children at higher risk of displacement due to climate change, says Unicef

PETALING JAYA: Weather-related disasters have caused 43.1 million internal displacements of children in 44 countries between 2016 and 2021, says Unicef Malaysia.

Of this figure, 354,000 internal displacements were reported in Malaysia during the same period.

According to a new Unicef analysis released on Friday (Oct 6), the 43.1 million figure is equal to approximately 20,000 child displacements a day.

The analysis titled “Children Displaced in a Changing Climate” revealed that many children were driven from their homes between 2016 and 2021 due to floods, storms, droughts and wildfires.

“While Malaysia is not included in the global report, displacement due to floods is a real and present danger.

“The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) revealed that there were 354,000 climate-related internal displacements between 2016 and 2021 in Malaysia.

“In 2021, floods triggered around 129,000 internal displacements in Malaysia compared with 24,000 in 2020.

“In 2022, IDMC recorded 156,000 people displaced due to floods, landslides, and storms: signs of a changing climate,” Unicef said in a statement on Friday (Oct 6).

The United Nations’ agency said children were at higher risk of getting hurt or losing their lives during storms and floods as climate disasters force families to leave their homes as well as access to clean water and sanitation.

As a result of climate change and various displacements, Unicef said diseases like dengue and malaria would spread faster.

“Climate change is a child rights issue. It robs an entire generation of their future. Children and youth understand that disasters and climate change will significantly affect their lives.

“They are not mere beneficiaries of climate action. With the right tools, resources, and support, they can act, advocate, and safeguard their friends, families, and communities from environmental harm,” said Robert Gass, Unicef Representative to Malaysia.

According to the report, floods and storms accounted for 40.9 million – or 95% – of recorded child displacements between 2016 and 2021, due in part to better reporting and more pre-emptive evacuations.

Droughts on the other hand triggered more than 1.3 million internal displacements of children, while wildfires triggered 810,000 child displacements, with more than a third occurring in 2020 alone.

“Decisions to move can be forced and abrupt in the face of disaster, or as the result of pre-emptive evacuation, where lives may be saved but many children still face the dangers and challenges that come with being uprooted from their homes, often for extended periods.

“Here in Malaysia, climate scientists have predicted that by 2030, about a quarter of the population will be displaced because of climate change,” the statement added.

To prevent the situation from worsening, Unicef urged governments, donors, development partners, and the private sector to take several actions.

The agency said the proposed actions could better protect children and young people at the risk of future displacement, as well as prepare them and their communities.

“Protect children and young people from the impacts of climate change-exacerbated disasters and displacement by ensuring that child-critical services – including education, health, nutrition, social protection and child protection services – are shock-responsive, portable and inclusive, including for those already uprooted from their homes.

“Prepare children and young people to live in a climate-changed world by improving their adaptive capacity and resilience, and enabling their participation in finding inclusive solutions.

“Prioritise children and young people – including those already uprooted from their homes – in disaster and climate action and finance, humanitarian and development policy, and investments to prepare for a future already happening.”