Mumbai, February 17 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 the climate crisis a 'child rights crisis'… Today, one billion children around the world live in an extremely high-risk environment," McCaffrey told
When there are droughts or floods, or when food cannot be produced locally, children's nutrition suffers, McCaffrey said.
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 disrupting schools, and in 2024, as many as 24.2 crore children around the world had interruptions in their schooling due to natural disasters, McCaffrey noted.
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 that ensures that the policies framed in most states, which are child-friendly, do not become a later tier for funding or become a lower funding priority. It also ensures that there is monitoring of the implementation of these policies," she added.
These investments are both in the systems and in creating immediate awareness, McCaffrey said.
Ensuring that young people have knowledge of climate change and the available solutions is also important, so that they can recognize that the necessary policies are adequately funded and strengthened, she said.