In South Asia, more children than anywhere else in the world face significant water shortages, worsened by the effects of climate change, reveals a study by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published on Monday November 13. “In South Asia, 347 million children under the age of 18 are exposed to significant or extremely severe water scarcity, the highest number of any region in the world”, details this study. This region of eight countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – is home to more than a quarter of the world’s children.
“Climate change is disrupting weather patterns and precipitation, leading to unpredictable water availability”, explains Unicef. The study cites poor water quality, water scarcity and mismanagement, such as over-pumping of aquifers as climate change diminishes the amount of water flowing into them. “When village wells dry up, homes, health centers and schools are all affected”pointed out Unicef. “With an increasingly unpredictable climate, water scarcity is expected to worsen for children in South Asia”according to the agency.
“Drinking water is a fundamental human right”
At the COP28 UN climate conference in Dubai in December, Unicef said it would ask leaders to “guarantee a livable planet”. “Drinking water is a fundamental human right”highlighted Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF manager for South Asia. “Yet millions of children in South Asia do not have enough to drink in a region plagued by floods, droughts and other extreme weather events, increasingly common due to climate change”he warned.
In 2022, 45 million children lacked access to basic drinking water services in South Asia, more than in any other region, but UNICEF estimated that these services were expanding rapidly and that this number is expected to be halved by 2030. South Asia is followed by East and Southern Africa, where 130 million children are at risk of severe water shortage, according to the Unicef study.