650, 000 Nigerian children displaced by floods in five years – UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday at least 650,000 Nigerians have been displaced by floods in the last five years.

The UNICEF Chief of Field Office in Nigeria, Gerida Birukila, stated this at an event marking World Children’s Day on Monday in Kaduna.

Birukila, who was represented at the forum by an officer in the agency, Joyce Eli, said the children were displaced by floods between 2016 and 2021.

She added at least 3.1 million children could be displaced by riverine floods over the next 30 years

Nigeria, according to the UNICEF official, has the second-largest number of children in the world exposed to the impacts of climate change.

Birukila said: “Nigeria’s child population of more than 110 million accounts for 10 percent of the 1 billion children worldwide who live in extremely high-risk countries from the effects of climate change.

READ ALSO: Nigerian govt issues flood alert on Bauchi, Kebbi, Kano, 10 others

“Nigerian children are disproportionately affected by climate change.

“Rising temperatures, flooding, drought, and intense storms are the most serious climate-related threats to children in Nigeria.

“Among the direct health effects are physical dangers that lead to injury, heat stress, diminished access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services, and an increase in waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, and malaria.”

She revealed that environmental degradation and climate change also contributed to malnutrition due to a shortfall in food availability.

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