The United Nations warned everyone with the fact that every child is under immediate threat, due to climate change, which represents the fact that we have failed to protect our children from health dangers. In the report, A Future for the World’s Children?, 40 world’s pre-eminent child and adolescent health experts analyzed the data and concluded that No Country On The Earth is adequately protecting the next generation from the heavy impacts of carbon emission, water pollution, destruction of nature and high-calorie and processed food.
The report included 180 countries and compared their performance under different categories like child flourishing, education, nutrition, etc. The report made a list of countries depicting the chances of children's survival. The list was topped by Norway, The Republic of Korea, and the Netherlands, while the Central African Republic, Somalia, niger, and Chad were at the bottom. Awa Coll-Seck, who is the Co-Chair of Commission in Senegal pointed out that 2 billion people are somehow living in nations where there is an existing humanitarian crisis.
She added that some nations, who have the lowest carbon dioxide emission are being subjected to the impacts of climate change. Promoting safer conditions for children should be the priority, and that is how these nations will thrive.
Some countries have performed well in reducing carbon emission, while also flourishing children's health and safety. Some such countries are Albania, Vietnam, Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Armenia, Grenada, Uruguay, Moldova, and Jordan. India stood at 131st among 180 countries. Anthony Costello, who is a professor of International Child Health and Director of the Institute of Global Health at University College London said that there is not even one country that is taking sufficient measures to protect a child's health.
The wealthier nations are producing carbon at an amount that is threatening the future of all the children on earth and are burdening them with health problems before they are even born.
Former PM of New Zealand, Helen Clark said that all the improvements that were made in the past 2 decades have halted and will reverse. 250 million children under the age of 5 years in underdeveloped and developing countries are not able to reach their physical and mental ability due to poverty. The condition is now worsening due to climate change.
Image Courtesy: Joel Santos The New York Times
Sources: UNICEF