There is no better truth than this. Climate change is real and it impacts us all. The health and future of every child is under threat due to ecological degradation, climate change and exploitative marketing practices that push fast food, sugary drinks, alcohol and tobacco at children, a UN report has revealed.
It has been expressed that no country is adequately protecting children's health, their environment and their futures, according to the report by a commission that consisted of over 40 child and adolescent health experts from around the globe.
The commission, convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, and medical journal the Lancet, has revealed that while the poorest countries fail to support their children in providing healthy lives, excessive carbon emissions from wealthier countries threaten the future of all children.?
"Despite improvements in child and adolescent health over the past 20 years, progress has stalled, and is set to reverse," said former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Co-Chair of the Commission, Helen Clark.
"It has been estimated that around 250 million children under five years old in low- and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential, based on proxy measures of stunting and poverty. But of even greater concern, every child worldwide now faces existential threats from climate change and commercial pressures," Clark said.
The report, titled "A Future for the World's Children?", includes a new global index of 180 countries, comparing performance on child flourishing and sustainability, with a proxy for greenhouse gas emissions, and equity, or income gaps.??
In the index, India ranked lowly at 131 among the 180 countries which were included in the index.
The index shows Norway, South Korea and the Netherlands, all stood among the top as the countries where the children have best chance at survival and well-being, while it revealed a grey figure for African countries like Chad, Somalia, Niger and Mali.
The report also revealed that in terms of carbon emission, countries like US, Australia, and Saudi Arabia are worst emitters of the gas that threatens the planet.?
It was also raveled that the countries on track to beat CO2 emission per capita targets by 2030, while also performing fairly (within the top 70) on child flourishing measures are: Albania, Armenia, Grenada, Jordan, Moldova, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uruguay and Vietnam.??