Children At Highest Risk in Disasters

The 2018 WorldRiskReport focuses on children, and has concluded that in wars, conflicts or natural disasters, they are often the people made most vulnerable. Vanuatu, Tonga and the Philippines are among the countries most in danger, while Qatar, Malta and Saudi Arabia are among the most secure. 

Background 

The WorldRiskReport, developed by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security, describes the disaster risk for various countries and regions. The main focus of the report is exposure to key natural hazards and the rise in sea level caused by climate change, as well as social vulnerability in the form of the population’s susceptibility and their capacity for coping and adaptation. The World Risk Index studies the level of risk for each individual country and provides a global overview. The  2018 WorldRiskReport, published by the Ruhr-University Bochum, and the Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft, an alliance of German development and relief organizations, focuses on what happens to children in times of catastrophe.  

Analysis

The 2018 WorldRiskReport points out the growing risks in a number of regions of the combination of wars or conflicts and other devastating disasters. 

The report explores the basic idea that the occurrence of extreme natural events, such as droughts, earthquakes, cyclones, is not the only relevant factor in disaster risk, but that societal factors also play a part in whether or not the extreme natural events result in a disaster. 

In April 2016, North West Ecuador was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. More than 660 people died, and 80,000 lost their homes and livelihoods. About 560 schools were partially or totally destroyed. Children were particularly affected: many lost their parents and were left at first to fend completely for themselves. Emergency help did eventually arrive, but it was some time before the children were being looked after properly. Nonetheless, by April of the following year, the aid organization Plan International had provided emergency relief to 36,900 children.

Children are particularly badly affected by natural disasters, and they're more at risk than the adults because as a rule they're not as physically strong. They're often not as well protected legally, either, being less able to demand their rights, although these are protected by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. For children, the initial situation after a disaster is especially difficult. 

The vulnerability of children was apparent after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti: About 7,300 minors were abducted by traffickers and taken across the border to the Dominican Republic. In 2008, after Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, hundreds of children were forced into domestic servitude.

The WorldRiskIndex includes Vanuatu, Tonga and the Philippines among the countries most in danger, while naming Qatar, Malta and Saudi Arabia as among the most secure. Germany ranks 17th in the latter group.

One of the countries where children are currently heavily at risk is Yemen, where civil war has raged for three and a half years. Civilians are particularly affected: Several million internally displaced people are on the move in this country. Military violence is not the only cause of their suffering, as there has also been a lengthy drought. The situation in Iraq is also difficult. 

These countries do not have the capacity to respond appropriately to an extreme natural disaster in their state of war, leaving many children to live in a completely ruined environment, or in a refugee camp, where conditions make it very difficult for them to receive medical treatment or an education. 

In January 2005, the second international conference on minimising risks from disasters took place in the Japanese city of Kobe under the slogan "A Safer World for All." The conference adopted the Hyogo Framework for Action, which prioritised measures such as social safety nets and reconstruction programs, as well as psychosocial support. The aim is for these to help children overcome the psychological consequences of disasters. This created the impetus for the ongoing expansion of children's rights after such events, although these are still by no means self-evident. This slow progress is why the authors of the 2018 study have called for protections for children to be strengthened further. They are why the authors of the 2018 study have called for protections for children to be strengthened further. 

The authors of the report conclude that children should be consulted on prevention, intervention and temporary assistance, "Because they are aware of and can identify other risks, they really need to be involved and to help with the development of strategies,”  they write. The authors are convinced that this is the only way effectively to improve protections for children during and after disasters. 

Assessment 

Our assessment is that not all countries have the means to institute measures to reduce the effects of natural disasters, such as stronger building regulations, more effective response strategies, and reductions in levels of extreme poverty and inequality. We believe efforts must be made by all nations to ensure the protection of future generations, even those across their own borders.