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MANILA: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday said children suffer the most in any emergency, bearing the brunt of extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change.
This was after heavy rains and massive floods devastated the National Capital Region, northern Luzon, Central Luzon and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the past two days.
According to UNICEF studies, the Philippines has the highest number of children displaced in the last six years from weather-related events at 9.7 million.
About 97 percent of Filipino children experience three or more types of shock, hazard, or stress. While Filipino children have the highest level of eco anxiety in the world, they are also the most resilient and most engaged.
‘Children in the Philippines should not have to fear for their lives every time a strong typhoon comes. The climate crisis faced by countries like the Philippines is changing the lives of children,” UNICEF Philippines Representative Edgar Donoso Paz said in
a statement.
“Children are robbed of the ability to live happy and healthy lives, threatening their future, and exposing them to harm. While they are vulnerable, children and young people do have an active role to play in reducing risk and working with adults. They bring critical skills, experiences, and creative solutions,’ he said.
The UNICEF is coordinating and monitoring with partners at the national and local levels as co-leader of the water, sanitation, and hygiene; education; nutrition; and child protection clusters.
It has prepositioned emergency supplies for nearly 10,000 families to respond to affected people’s needs for safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, education, and child protection.
These supplies include schools-in-a-box, family hygiene and dignity kits, tents, water purification tablets, and ready-to-use therapeutic food, among others.
Paz said the UNICEF and its partners are ready to immediately distribute these supplies upon the government’s request.
Source: Philipp
ines News agency
