UNICEF: Over 800k children displaced by flooding in Nigeria

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) says an estimated 840,000 children have been displaced by the recent flooding that ravaged some parts of Nigeria.

According to a statement on Tuesday, Paloma Escudero, head of the UNICEF delegation for COP27, said about 27.7 million children across the world were affected by the flooding in 2022.

Escudero said children a large majority of the 27.7 million children affected by flooding in 2022 are among the most vulnerable and are at high risk of a multitude of threats including death by drowning, disease outbreaks, lack of safe drinking water, malnutrition, disruption in learning, and violence.

“We are seeing unprecedented levels of flooding all around the world this year, and with it, an explosion in threats to children,” she said.

“The climate crisis is here. In many places, the flooding is the worst it has been in a generation, or several. Our children are already suffering at a scale their parents never did.

“The aftermath of floods is often more deadly for children than the extreme weather events that caused the flooding. In 2022, floods have contributed to the increased spread of major killers of children, such as malnutrition, malaria, cholera and diarrhea.

“In addition to threatening the lives of millions of children, the flood waters have disrupted essential services and displaced countless families.

“An estimated 840,000 children were displaced by floods in Nigeria in recent months.”

Escudero said over 1 in 9 children who were hospitalised in flood-ravaged areas in Pakistan were diagnosed with acute malnutrition, while an estimated 465,030 hectares of farmlands were destroyed in Lake Chad, contributing to heightened food insecurity.

“COP27 provides an opportunity to chart a credible roadmap with clear milestones for finance for climate adaptation and solutions for loss and damage,” she said.

“Young people from the most affected places on earth are drowning in climate inaction. Enough is enough. Lives are on the line – children need action now.”