Floods have displaced 650,000 Nigerian children, making the country the second most affected globally by climate change impacts on children.
The displacement occurred from 2016 to 2023, as highlighted in a press release by the United Nations Children’s Education Fund, UNICEF, on Monday, which coincided with the 2023 World Children’s Day.
The UN agency emphasised that over 110 million Nigerian children are at risk due to rising temperatures, floods, droughts, and severe storms.
Dr. Salisu Dahiru, Director General of the National Council on Climate Change, stressed the urgency of a swift and inclusive response, particularly considering the needs of vulnerable populations like children and women, in decision-making and implementation.
Similarly, Christian Munduate, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, underscored the need to provide a platform for children to express their concerns about climate change, towards shaping a collective path toward a sustainable future.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in education, the environment, media, and relevant organizations converged at Evolution Hotel, Gombe, for the launch of the Climate Landscape Analysis for Children (CLAC) in Nigeria, marking the 2023 World Children’s Day.
UNICEF Bauchi Field Office streamed the launch live, highlighting key climate risks to children and outlining multi-sectoral climate actions planned for Nigeria from 2023–2027.
The event was attended by UNICEF officials, Gombe’s Commissioner for Education, Professor Aishatu Umar Maigari, the Project Coordinator of Agro-Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape (ACReSAL), and other stakeholders, including journalists and advocates for peace.
Other stakeholders who attended the launch in Gombe were veteran journalists Farida Muhammad Dunemia, Alhaji Usman Shehu, Alhaji Aliyu Ardo and others from Pathway to Peace DW Academia.
After the launch, an inter-school quiz competition on climate change was organized by UNICEF in collaboration with Gombe State Ministry of Education, ACReSAL and Pathway to Peace DW Academia.
Declaring the competition open, the Commissioner charged the students to see the inter-school quiz competition as an avenue to learn about climate.
She commended UNICEF for the launch of CLAC and also coming up with the idea inter-school competition on climate change.
Maigari called for the need to sustain CLAC and other interventions for children in order to leave a lasting legacy.
Daily Post reports that Government Girls Mega College, Gombe emerged first in the inter-school competition while Government Day Secondary School, Gandu and Government Day Secondary School, Gombe emerged second and third, respectively.
