The future of childhood is at risk if urgent measures are not taken to protect the rights of children and adolescents in a changing world, warns Unicef in a report published today on the occasion of World Children’s Day.
The UN agency’s new report, ‘The State of the World’s Children 2024: the future of children in a changing world’, foresees how three major global forces – or «megatrends»– will affect the lives of boys and girls from 2050 onwards. These “megatrends” are climate crises, demographic change and technological advances, which already today provide key clues about the remains and opportunities that are being addressed. childhood will face in the future.
Widespread climate disasters
According to the report, in the 2050s Climate and environmental crises are expected to become even more widespreadyeswith eight times more children and adolescents exposed to extreme heat waves, three times more exposed to extreme river flooding and almost twice as many exposed to extreme forest fires, compared to the 2000s. «An example of an aggravated catastrophe is the DANA that has hit our country in recent days,” said Gustavo Suárez-Pertierra, president of Unicef Spain.
A woman carries a child dressed as a firefighter in her arms along a street in the Valencian town of Masanasa
“We are especially attentive to those 163,000 children residing in the affected municipalities due to the floods in the Valencian Community. Boys and girls who need to return to school as soon as possible, guaranteeing their safety and emotional well-being after the great trauma they have suffered,” he added. »Unicef’s experience in humanitarian emergencies shows us that children are the most vulnerable population in these types of situations and that, while schools are rehabilitated, boys and girls must have safe alternative spaces where they can study and socialize.»
Environmental measures to save childhood
How global climate hazards affect the world’s children will depend on your age, health, socioeconomic situation and access to resources. For example, a child with access to climate-resistant shelter, cooling infrastructure, healthcare, education and clean water is more likely to survive climate shocks than a child without access. The report highlights the urgent need to adopt specific environmental measures to protect all of them and mitigate the risks they face.
The demographic trend It is also alarming throughout the planet. The report predicts that sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia will have the largest child populations in the 2050s. An aging global population is also expected, with the ratio of boys to girls declining in all regions of the world.
Although it will continue to be high, in 2050 the child population will fall below 40% in Africa, down from 50% in the 2000s. It will also be below 17% in East Asia and Western Europe, where boys and girls made up 29% and 20% of the population, respectively, in the 2000s.
Digital divide at the expense of AI
On the other hand, the report also recognizes that cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), present both benefits and risks for young peoplewhich are already interacting with AI integrated into applications, toys, virtual assistants, games and learning software.
However, its greatest risk is that it will influence the digital divide, which is currently already a problem. In 2024, more than 95% of the inhabitants of high-income countries will be connected to the internet, compared to only 26% in low-income countries.
Likewise, the report also foresees an increase in life expectancy and continued progress in access to education. Specifically, it is expected that Almost 96% of children around the world have completed at least Primary Education in the 2050s, up from 80% in the 2000s). The report states that childhood outcomes could be significantly improved with greater investment in education and public health, and stronger protection of the environment.
«World Children’s Day is an occasion to remember that, in many parts of the planet, the rights of boys and girls are still not guaranteed. The measures promoted by world leaders today will determine the reality of childhood in the present and in the future,” concluded Gustavo Suárez-Pertierra.
#Unicef #points #DANA #Valencia #catastrophes #child #population #experience
