Mumbai, Feb 17 (PTI) The climate crisis is also a child rights crisis as it impacts nutrition and learning, UNICEF India Representative Cynthia McCaffrey said on Tuesday.
“We call climate crisis a ‘child rights crisis’….Today, one billion children around the world live in an extremely high-risk environment area,” McCaffrey told PTI on the sidelines of Mumbai Climate Week.
When there are droughts or floods, or food can not be produced locally, children’s nutrition suffers, said McCaffrey.
India, like the rest of the world, is dealing with a triple burden, she said, adding that besides malnutrition, there is now the problem of micronutrient deficiencies and obesity.
Good nutrition leads to good learning, she added.
Climate events are interrupting schools, and in 2024, as many as 24.2 crore children around the world had an interruption of schools due to natural calamities, noted McCaffrey.
Policies and frameworks to deal with these problems exist in India and many other countries, but it should be ensured that these policies are adequately supported, funded, effectively implemented and properly enforced, she said.
“In India, there is an investment going on which is making sure that the policies framed in most states, which are child-friendly, do not become a later tier for funding or become lower funding priority. It also makes sure that there is monitoring of implementation of these policies,” she added.
These investments are both in the systems and in creating immediate awareness, said McCaffrey.
Ensuring that young people have knowledge of climate change and the available solutions is also important, so that they can recognise that the necessary policies are adequately funded and strengthened, she said. PTI SM KRK
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