Africa: Children Are Paying The Price for Climate Change. Climate Finance Must Catch Up

Climate change is reshaping what childhood looks like.

We’re seeing it across Eastern and Southern Africa, with children paying the highest price for a climate crisis they did not create.

In Kenya, floods are pushing girls out of school. In Somalia, repeated shocks have displaced millions of children. In Mozambique, cyclones have destroyed thousands of classrooms, while those built to resilient standards have remained standing.

But before we turn to solutions, we must understand the scale of the problem.

The human and economic cost

The climate crisis puts children at risk long before they reach the school gate. Their growing bodies and minds make them especially vulnerable to disease, trauma, malnutrition and displacement.

Then there’s the desperate lengths families are often forced into, including child labour and child marriage, when climate shocks wipe out livelihoods.

If the human cost isn’t enough, the economic loss should spur action.

New analysis from UNICEF and Dalberg shows:

Floods, droughts, cyclones and heatwaves have already caused $1.3 billion in direct climate-related loss and damage to education systems across Eastern and Southern Africa, with losses projected to triple by 2050.
520 million students could face disrupted schooling if we fail to act, risking up to $380 billion in lost future earnings.
In Zambia alone, droughts and floods over two decades disrupted learning for 5 million students and reduced potential future earnings by up to $5 billion.

So, what can be done?

Solutions

This is where investment choices matter. Climate resilient systems are among the smartest investments governments can make. Every $1 invested in resilient education infrastructure yields up to $13 in avoided future loss and damage, and the same logic applies across all child-critical services.

In practice, this means prioritising the basics that children depend on. Climate finance must support not only education, but the essential services they rely on. The climate crisis is already reducing access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene through droughts, salinisation and flooding, increasing the risk of disease and hunger. Investing in climate-resilient water and sanitation systems that can withstand these shocks is fundamental.

At the same time, families need support. Stronger social protection can help households survive when livelihoods collapse, reducing the need for harmful coping strategies.

There are already examples of what this looks like at scale, with governments across the region showing strong leadership. Successes must be expanded and backed by financing equal to the scale of the crisis.

Mozambique requires all schools to meet resilient standards.
Ethiopia and South Sudan are expanding solar-powered water and health systems to keep essential services running during droughts.
Kenya has integrated early warning systems into schools, while South Africa has embedded climate education across its curriculum.
Madagascar has unlocked rapid financing, delivering close to US$3 million after recent cyclones to support recovery and strengthen resilience.

But alongside these investments, the non-economic loss and damage children experience – such as lost learning time, psychosocial stress and disruptions to childhood development – must also be recognised and addressed, as they are too often overlooked in climate responses.

FRLD is key

Funding has not kept pace with what we know works. Between 2006 and 2023, only 2.4% of multilateral climate fund proposals supported projects that responded to children’s needs. Children, despite being the least responsible for this crisis, remain almost invisible in the decisions that shape their futures.

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