Children’s wellbeing will be ‘under threat’ in 2050, warns UNICEF

With more children living in cities in the coming decades, ensuring urban areas are healthier and more secure is essential to building a better world for future generations, the UNICEF report notes
| Photo Credit: KVS GIRI

The world is facing an unprecedented crisis with nearly half of all children – about 1 billion – living in countries that face a high risk of climate and environmental hazards, the UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children 2024 (SOWC-2024) report, said. The report was released on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.

The report examines the impact of three long-term global forces — demographic shifts, climate and environmental crises, and frontier technologies, which it says will have a profound effect on children’s lives between now and 2050.

It notes that climate destabilisation, biodiversity collapse and widespread pollution threats are intensifying globally. “Children are confronting a more unpredictable, hazardous environment than any previous generation,’’ it warns.

Explaining the adverse impact these forces can have, the UNICEF report said that children’s developing bodies are uniquely susceptible to these hazards. From before their first breath, children’s brains, lungs and immune systems are vulnerable to pollution and extreme weather. Air pollution is especially harmful to children; its impact on their respiratory health and development can last a lifetime.

Rising temperatures increases mosquito populations, spreading diseases like malaria, dengue and Zika. Floods contaminate water supplies, leading to waterborne diseases, which are a major cause of death for children under five years of age. Extreme weather limits food production and access, increasing children’s risk of food insecurity. Climate-related disasters can also cause feelings of helplessness, trauma and anxiety in children, notes the report.

UNICEF’s analysis projections for the 2050s

Newborn survival rates globally will increase by nearly 4 percentage points from the 2000s to over 98 per cent.

The probability of a child surviving to the age of 5 – given surviving as a newborn – rises by 1 percentage point from the 2000s to 99.5 per cent.

Life expectancy increases from 70 years for girls and 66 for boys born in the 2000s, to 81 years and 76, respectively.

By the 2050s, significantly more children are projected to be exposed to extreme climate hazards compared with those in the 2000s.

“Since 2022, 400 million students around the world have experienced school closures due to extreme weather. In addition to violating child rights, inhibiting learning stifles economic growth. Climate and environmental hazards also displace children from their homes,’’ the report states.

Child population to stabilise by 2050s

Additionally, it notes that by the 2050s, the global child population is projected to stabilize at around 2.3 billion. While South Asia will remain one of the regions with the largest child populations, it will be joined by Eastern and Southern Africa, as well as West and Central Africa.

“These regions already struggle to meet children’s basic needs, while also facing significant climate risks and lacking adequate digital infrastructure,’’ states that report adding that with fewer young dependents relative to workers, more resources could be freed to support children and boost the economy.

Technologies that could improve childhoods

On the frontier technologies front, the report notes that artificial intelligence (AI), neurotechnology, next-generation renewable energy and vaccine breakthroughs – could significantly improve childhood in the future.

“Digitalization can empower children but it can also expose children to online risks, including sexual exploitation and abuse,’’ the report cautions.

Socio-economic conditions

23 percent of the world’s children are projected to live in the 28 countries currently classified as low-income – more than double the share in these countries than in the 2000s (11 per cent)

At the same time, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is projected to more than double in East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia from the 2020s to the 2050s

Urbanisation

With more children living in cities in the coming decades, ensuring urban areas are healthier and more secure is essential to building a better world for future generations.

Nearly 60 per cent of children globally are projected to live in urban settings in the 2050s, up from 44 per cent in the 2000s.

It adds that over 95 per cent of people in high-income countries are connected to the internet, compared with barely 26 per cent in low-income countries. Infrastructure limitations, high costs and permission barriers continue to impede progress. This digital exclusion threatens to exacerbate existing inequalities, especially in regions with rapidly growing child populations.