Climate Change Causes Food Insecurity in 27 Million Children

A non-governmental organisation, Save the Children, has reported that extreme weather events in 12 countries, particularly in vulnerable areas, led to over 27 million children experiencing acute food insecurity in 2022, a 135% increase from 2021.

Children accounted for almost half of the 57 million people in food crises in these countries, according to data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

Ethiopia and Somalia were home to almost half of the 27 million children facing these levels of food insecurity.

Save the Children is calling on the UN Climate Conference (COP28) to take action against climate change, recognising children as “key actors of change” and addressing other causes of food insecurity, such as conflict prevention and strengthening health systems. The charity estimates that one in three children worldwide lives in poverty while exposed to extreme weather events.