World Vision report on climate impacts for children in the Middle East 

Friedrichsdorf/Dubai- On today's COP28 theme day "Children and Youth", the international aid organisation, World Vision, is drawing attention to the dramatic situation for this age group in the Middle East. According to a report now published by the NGO, children and young people in the Middle East report significantly more frequent "climate shocks" such as sandstorms, heat waves and water shortages.  

The Middle East, with its climatic hotspots Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and the West Bank, has been suffering particularly badly from the consequences of the climate crisis for years. Extreme heat, more frequent and intense sandstorms, droughts and reduced rainfall are increasingly affecting the region, which suffers from chronic water shortages and is already warming twice as much as the global average. This, in turn, is having a disproportionately detrimental impact on children. 

Ekkehard Forberg, climate expert at World Vision: "Climate change in the Middle East region is having a negative impact on children in several ways. Firstly, it affects their health through extreme temperatures, hunger and water shortages. But there are also indirect consequences, for example, many children and young people are unable to attend school regularly because the paths are destroyed by flash floods." 

The World Vision report, which surveyed 1,095 children and young people in five countries and regions, also shows that climate change increases food insecurity and makes access to water more difficult. In Syria and Lebanon, over 90 percent of children and young people say they receive less food than they need, followed by Iraq and the West Bank with around 70 percent. In addition, an average of 94% of those surveyed stated that they had difficulty accessing drinking water. 

In the report, many young people expressed their desire not to give in to climate change, but to proactively transform their concerns and fears into solution-oriented and collective action. However, there is a lack of suitable platforms and opportunities that allow them to get involved. 

Ekkehard Forberg: "Governments, cities and municipalities, as well as aid organisations, must involve children and young people at all levels of climate policy and decision-making. This still happens far too rarely, even though their generation, and future generations, will bear the brunt of what adults have done." 

ENDS. 

For more information, please contact Dirk Bathe at dirk.bathe@wveu.org or phone +49 175 187 9525. 

World Vision's projects include the establishment of environmental clubs, children's parliaments and the sending of youth ambassadors to conferences such as COP28. World Vision is a Christian humanitarian and development organisation dedicated to working with children, families and their communities to reach their full potential by tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice.  World Vision and their partners are working in communities to improve families’ economic prospects, strength violence prevention and child protection services, and improve education systems.   

World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.  For more information, please visit World Vision Hunger Crisis, World Vision @COP28, or follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @WorldVision    

 
Download the report: Middle East Climate Report