Children pay the price for climate change
Save the Children has today called for a dramatic shake up in dealing with natural disasters linked to climate change
Monday 30 June 2008
Our latest report, In the Face of Disaster, says that governments, international organisations and aid agencies must change their tactics and prepare for natural disasters rather than just responding to them.
They must invest now to prepare in advance for the increase in the number and severity of disasters that climate change will bring.
It is too late to concentrate solely on reducing carbon emissions - climate change is already having an impact. Now is the time to plan for disasters before they happen to reduce the damage they cause to the lives of vulnerable children and their families.
It is estimated that every $1 spent on preparing for a disaster can prevent $7 of losses. If all the countries that give money to humanitarian assistance invested an additional 10% of the approximately $10 billion they spend on responding to disasters on preparation, they could prevent $7 billion of losses. Enough to respond to five tsunamis.
Save the Children’s Emergency Expert, Amelia Bookstein Kyazze said: “Climate change has moved the goal posts for responding to emergencies and we, as the international community, must adapt. Investing in preparing for disasters now will not only save millions of pounds in the long run - it will save lives. Now is the time to think big.”
In a previous report in its climate change series published last year, Save the Children said that 50% of those affected by natural disasters were children and estimated that up to 175 million children every year are likely to be affected by the kinds of natural disasters brought about by climate change.
Bookstein Kyazze continued: “It is difficult to predict exactly when and where disasters will strike, but we know which countries are vulnerable and there are many ways that we can plan for disasters. We know the areas where disasters recur, like the flood-prone deltas of Bangladesh, the arid drought-affected Sahel region of West Africa, the volatile Pacific Rim. Instead of playing catch up with climate change and waiting for disaster to strike, the international community should invest now in projects that will reduce the devastating impact of the natural disasters that climate change will bring.”
Recent events have highlighted the difference that investing in preparation can make. In Bangladesh in November 2007, thousands of volunteers that were part of the country’s cyclone preparedness programme mobilised to evacuate people living in the path of Cyclone Sidr. The rapid response was responsible for saving tens of thousands of lives - Fewer than 4,000 people died in 2007, compared to 140,000 in a similar scale cyclone in 1991.
The experience of Bangladesh contrasts strongly with Myanmar (Burma) in May 2008, where there was very little preparation for disaster, and Cyclone Nargis was responsible for a much higher death toll.
The projects that should be funded to prepare for disasters includes everything from planting mangrove trees, to building disaster resistant public buildings, making clear evacuation routes or setting up early warning systems. These projects, known as Disaster Risk Reduction, should involve everyone, including children living in villages, governments and international organisations.
168 countries have already reached an agreement on the need for disaster risk reduction work to take place at local, national, regional and international levels. This agreement, called the Hyogo Framework, was developed in 2005 but Save the Children is concerned that those involved are yet to deliver on their commitments.
Save the Children recommends:
- Donors should commit the equivalent of an additional 10% of the money they currently spend on disaster response to preparing for disasters.
- The countries who adopted the Hyogo framework should make good on their commitments to it and report back on the progress they are making.
- Children who live in disaster-prone areas should be taught about how to respond to emergencies and should be involved in all levels of disaster risk reduction projects in their communities.
More information
Giving children a voice on climate change
