Health of millions of children in East Asia, Pacific at risk due to climate change, UNICEF report says

Nov 16 2011

"Climate change is expected to worsen the plight of millions of children in East Asia and the Pacific who already lack food and clean water and are vulnerable to disease, ... UNICEF said Monday ... in its report (.pdf) 'Children's vulnerabilities to climate change and disaster impacts in East Asia and the Pacific,'" AlertNet reports. "'Higher temperatures have been linked to increased rates of malnutrition, cholera, diarrheal disease and vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria,' putting children at far greater risk of contracting these diseases and succumbing to their complications, the report said," the news service writes.

Children in East Asia and the Pacific "have already noted a range of experiences from climate change, the report said, from threats to livelihoods in Mongolia, dangers of sea level rise in the Pacific Islands, massive flooding in the Philippines and crop failures in Indonesia," AlertNet notes. "Asia Pacific is also the most disaster-prone region in the world and most deaths from disasters are concentrated here," the news service writes, adding, "Climate change impacts are also projected to increase the numbers of children affected by natural hazards globally, the report said" (Win, 11/14).