ROME. Nutrition programs in schools were the most affected, with an overall reduction of 60%. The “Save the children” report estimates that 710 million children live in the 45 countries at the highest risk of suffering the impact of climate change. Floods, droughts, hurricanes and other extreme weather events will have a particularly profound impact on vulnerable children and their families. Toddlers, for example, are at risk of suffering from food shortages, disease and other health threats, such as water scarcity or rise, or a combination of these factors.
Shortage of food
Globally, hundreds of millions of children live in regions where climate change is profoundly affecting their lives. The impact of the crisis on food production is likely to lead to local food shortages and rising prices, with devastating effects on the poorest families. Population movements linked to climate change are constantly increasing, some estimates speak of over 1 billion people who will be forced to leave their homes in the next thirty years. The pandemic risks undermining decades of progress made to protect and save the most vulnerable children. Weak health systems have collapsed and children have seen their parents or teachers infected with the virus. In recent months, while millions of families were plunging into poverty, the little ones suffered hunger because the heads of families had lost jobs and sources of income. In the most critical moments of the pandemic, access to supply chains, food supplies and humanitarian aid has proved increasingly difficult.
Malnutrition
Households have had to adapt to less expensive sources of calories, including starchy foods, grains, oils and / or non-perishable ultra-processed foods, and have reduced the consumption of nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables and foods of animal origin , such as dairy products, meat and fish. Diets with few micronutrients and of lower quality inevitably lead to an increase in cases of malnutrition. The closure of schools due to Covid, often the only place where children were able to have a safe meal, has had a huge impact on the possibility for children to access enough food: it is estimated that around 370 million children across the country. world did not have access to school meals. A recent report indicates that about 90% of the surveyed countries (122 out of 135) reported a decrease in services dedicated to nutrition, in particular those dedicated to chronic and acute malnutrition of children.