Nairobi, Apr 20 (EFE).- The effects of climate change have disrupted the learning of 130 million children in Eastern and Southern Africa, costing education systems around $1.3 billion in infrastructure damage, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) warned on Monday.
Educational disruptions will lead to future income losses of up to $140 billion, a figure that could rise to $380 billion by 2050 as the impacts of climate change intensify and affect up to 520 million students, according to a report by Unicef and Dalberg consulting firm.
“Children are paying the highest price for a crisis they did not create. For the first time, this report shows the scale of climate-related loss and damage to education, yet the impact on children remain largely invisible in financing decisions,” said Etleva Kadilli, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa.
“This must change,” she added.
The report, titled ‘Protecting Children’s Learning Futures: Quantifying Climate-Related Loss and Damage in Eastern and Southern Africa’ noted that education receives less than 1.5 percent of global climate funding.
Strengthening schools to withstand climate shocks not only protects education, but generates up to $13 in future benefits for every dollar invested by preserving children’s long-term development and productivity.
The analysis in countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, and Zambia showed that extreme weather events, which can impact the education system, ultimately push children into an even more precarious life.
In Zambia, floods and droughts between 2005 and 2024 disrupted the learning of 5 million students and caused immediate losses in educational infrastructure worth $60 million, in addition to reducing future income by up to $5 billion.
The drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon in Southern Africa between 2023 and 2024 left nearly 10 million people without food, water, or electricity, forcing schools to reduce hours, temporarily close, or send students home early.
“Rural children and girls were disproportionately affected, with many dropping out to support family livelihoods or facing increased child marriage risks,” the report noted.
The document was published ahead of the meeting that the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), an operating entity within the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is holding this week in Livingstone (Zambia).
UNICEF urged the LDRF to recognize children as rights holders in climate finance. EFE
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