‘Climate change to hit 175m kids’

Global Warming-Induced Natural Disasters Will Increase Risk Of Child Deaths: Report New Delhi: A new report suggests that 175 million children will be affected every year by frequent natural disasters caused due to climate change. Painting a grim future, a report by child rights NGO Save the Children said climate change was the biggest global health threat to children that could increase the risk of deaths due to diarrhoea, malnutrition, malaria and other diseases because of reduced community access to clean water, nutritious food and hygienic surroundings.      The report—'Feeling the Heat:Child Survival in a Changing Climate'—links access to basic facilities with climate change. It said 2 million children under 5 years of age die each year in India. Pointing out that this was the highest number anywhere in the world, the report said children were dying from a small number of preventable diseases, such as diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia."Climate change will make these conditions worse, placing children at greater risk, because it will reduce poor communities' access to clean water, reduce their ability to grow nutritious food, increase food prices and allow malaria mosquitoes to spread," the report said. The average number of naturaldisasters has increased from 200 a year to more than 400, and this is predicted to increase by 320% in 20 years. The report said climate changedisasters would also continue to increase malnutrition and certain diseases that often kill children. It estimated that malnutrition, which affects 178 million worldwide and is associated with up to 3.2 million child deaths each year, would affect 25 million more children by 2050. Already, one-third of all malnourished children live in India. Save the Children CEO Thomas Chandy said, "Climate change has put India at risk of not meeting the millennium development goals, and even taking several steps backwards from what has been accomplished to date. Children will be the ones who are hardest hit."  Nature vs Nurture  2 million kids under 5 years die every yr from diarrhoea, malaria, pneumonia  900 million kids will be affected by water shortage in the next generation, 160 million more at risk of malaria  Malnutrition affects 178 million kids worldwide, 1/3rd of whom live in India  Food scarcity, depletion of resources that help grow nutritious food will affect 25 million more by 2050  Natural disasters (at roughly 400 a year) to go up by 320% in 20 yrs  175 million children will be affected every year. Droughts & floods will trigger mass migrations, leading to increased child trafficking, labour      Source: Save the Children