Climate collaboration for children (CC4C)

Project 1 – Building climate-resilient health and education for climate displaced and vulnerable children in Somali and Oromia regions

Children displaced by climate-induced disasters, who have access to climate responsive health and education services are better able to adapt to climate change. The project will support climate vulnerable children to access health and education services whilst also supporting those services to be more climate responsive. It will further build evidence and scale successful interventions. The focus of the project is children who have been displaced due to climate change.

By upgrading health clinics and schools into climate-smart, shock-resistant facilities with reliable water systems, and equipping frontline staff with crisis-adaptation skills, the project directly reduces vulnerability while ensuring long-term operational sustainability. Accelerated learning and cash transfers will help out-of-school children return to class and prevent dropout, while mobile health and nutrition teams extend coverage to the hardest-to-reach communities. 

Designed for scalability and investment, all interventions align and will work closely with government systems and local partners to maximize impact and facilitate scalability across regions. The project also advances access to climate finance, including carbon finance and cost recovery approaches. Children and communities become agents of change, and real-time monitoring of results will build critical evidence for future growth.
 

Project 2 – Enhancing access to nutritious foods for women and children in vulnerable and climate-prone areas

Project description: Child malnutrition imposes a severe economic and social burden in Ethiopia, costing the country an estimated 16.5 per cent of its GDP every year and deeply affecting children’s physical and mental development. Malnutrition is made worse by climate shocks, which further limit access to nutritious food in already climate-vulnerable communities. This project provides a bankable pathway to tackling malnutrition by transforming local food systems through climate-smart, nutrition-sensitive agriculture targeting women, youth, and smallholders. The initiative delivers capacity-building in climate-resilient agricultural methods, ensures equitable access to resilient inputs and extension services, and breaks down financial and social barriers that restrict women’s innovation and market entry.

Demonstration hubs on post-harvest handling and partnerships with cooperatives and private sector actors are designed to strengthen value chains and connect marginalized producers—especially women—to profitable and stable markets. Activities also address discriminatory social norms and advocate for policies that empower women’s land rights and market participation, making the project more inclusive and sustainable. Robust monitoring and alignment with government policies help deliver measurable impacts in food production and household incomes. By improving food security, empowering communities, and creating pathways for climate finance, the project offers genuine investable outcomes for both public and private partners while building long-term climate resilience in Ethiopia.

Project 3 – Climate resilient social services for children in migration hotspots of Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands

Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) are facing worsening climate change impacts, with intense droughts and floods destroying livelihoods and habitable areas including basic infrastructure, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to migrate or be displaced. Critical services for children, such as health, education, and access to water repeatedly fail during crises due to their limited adaptive capacity and resilience to climate shocks. Displaced children and their families along migration routes have almost no access to safe water, healthcare, or schooling, trapping them in a relentless cycle of vulnerability. Displaced children also face higher risk of GBV, FGM and child marriage. The project addresses the reality that climate shocks are driving unprecedented displacement, with climate-displaced children increasing sevenfold to 187,000 in 2022 compared to 2021.

The intervention strengthens essential social service systems along migratory routes through climate-resilient infrastructure, skilled workforces, and integrated delivery, while removing barriers that prevent displaced children from accessing education, protection, and social support. Schools and clinics will be upgraded with flood-resistant buildings, solar power, and resilient water sources, and health workers trained on climate risks, supported by mobile health, nutrition, and water units at key migration points. Early warning systems that combine traditional knowledge with climate data will trigger anticipatory responses, such as cash transfers, supplies, and mobile teams, so communities can act before disaster strikes. For families forced to flee, emergency education spaces, psychosocial care, child protection, and flexible, skills-based learning for adolescents will be provided, guided by migration route mapping and community feedback.
 

Project 4 – Integrated climate, health and nutrition early warning systems in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands

Climate change is driving more frequent and severe floods, droughts, and heatwaves in Kenya, especially in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), resulting in disease outbreaks and rampant malnutrition among children. Even short bouts of malnutrition can permanently affect child development, while fragmented early warning systems (EWS) and limited community-level data hamper timely, effective emergency responses. The discontinuation of USAID-funded platforms has heightened aid dependency, making the need for sustainable, data-driven solutions urgent.

This project presents a bankable, country-driven solution to these challenges through four interconnected strategies. First, by optimizing and integrating existing climate, health, and nutrition data in government systems, such as ECHIS and meteorological sources, it will create sustainable EWS for early, targeted action. Cross-sector partnerships and expanded community surveillance will allow for smarter and quicker responses to malnutrition and disease outbreaks, supporting outcome-focused public investments. Second, the project invests in county governments, providing emergency planning and capacity building for community health workers to reinforce local institutional resilience. Third, improved risk communication and community engagement empowers families and service providers to anticipate and mitigate climate impacts. Finally, rapid mobile outreach guarantees continuity of essential services to children and families even during crises. Sectoral integration, robust monitoring, and cost-effective delivery makes this approach ready for scalable investment and measurable health resilience.

Project 5 – Strengthening flood resilience for children through anticipatory cash and education systems

This project strengthens the resilience of flood-prone communities in Belet Weyne, Somalia, focusing on children, adolescents, and families at risk from chronic poverty, weak governance, and recurring climate shocks. Devastating floods repeatedly overwhelm local coping capacities, destroying homes, livelihoods, and forcibly displacing communities, exposing children to malnutrition, disease outbreaks, school dropout, and heightened protection risks. The project tackles these challenges by introducing adaptive social protection systems that deliver emergency relief, such as shock-responsive cash transfers, while ensuring the continuity of vital services including education, health, WASH, and child protection.

By linking cash transfers to school attendance, the project incentivizes continued education and improves household food security, generating measurable social benefits and financial returns that are attractive to climate and development investors. Key interventions include expanding the national social registry for precise targeting, retrofitting schools and WASH facilities to withstand flooding, integrating child protection and positive parenting into cash support, and strengthening early warning systems for proactive disaster response. Enhanced community preparedness, psychosocial support, and dedicated child-friendly spaces safeguard children against exploitation and adverse health impacts. Robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks ensure transparent impact tracking, making the project scalable, sustainable, and well-positioned for public and private sector investment.
 

Project 6 – Innovative coastal child nutrition and sustainable, culturally adapted diets in Puntland and Banadir

Climate change in Somalia is severely undermining food security, especially in coastal communities where declining crop, and livestock productivity limits access to diverse, nutritious foods for young children, worsening poverty and malnutrition. Despite its nutritional value and resilience to climate shocks, fish is culturally a last-choice food.

This project aims to establish climate-resilient, sustainable, and nutritious food systems for children in the coastal regions of Puntland and Banadir. Targeted social and behavior change campaigns will boost demand for locally produced complementary foods such as fish and seaweed, overcoming cultural resistance and misinformation. By supporting small-scale farmers, fisherfolk, youth, and women’s cooperatives with technical training and financial inputs, the initiative empowers them to market and deliver innovative, nutrient-rich food products while strengthening community supply chains.  UNICEF will focus heavily on private sector engagement in the new fish and seafood supply chain. This approach will increase family resilience through new income opportunities and expand healthy food options for children. Capacity building for community health workers, care groups, and local entrepreneurs will further encourage improved child feeding practices and foster small-scale enterprise, while engagement with the private sector will ensure long-term financial sustainability. Together, these interventions will enable vulnerable households to secure better nutrition for their children in the face of climate shocks.

Project 7 – Ensuring safe and continuous learning for children in South Sudan amidst extreme heatwaves

South Sudan faces an acute education crisis compounded by climate change, with extreme heatwaves now a major threat. Over the past four decades, temperatures have risen far above regional and global averages, making schools physically unsafe. In recent years, classes were suspended nationwide for weeks, as heat exceeding 40°C caused daily student collapses from exhaustion. Most classrooms, built from metal sheets without electricity or ventilation become dangerously hot, undermining health and learning.

Closures carry lasting consequences. Many children, particularly girls, risk never returning to school, increasing vulnerability to early marriage, child labor, and other harmful coping strategies. Limited WASH facilities further heighten risks of dehydration and poor hygiene. Ongoing conflict, displacement, and unpaid teachers compound the disruption.

This project will enable safe, continuous learning during climate shocks by investing in climate-resilient infrastructure and infrastructure guideline development. Designs will feature elevated, ventilated classrooms, solar power, and flood-proofing, alongside solar-powered boreholes, rainwater harvesting, and shaded, gender-segregated latrines. Recognizing closures may persist, alternative learning modalities, such as mobile classrooms, radio education, and solar-powered remote hubs, will ensure continuity.

Partnerships with local contractors and suppliers will create new business opportunities, while integration with government plans and private sector engagement offers clear routes for climate finance and scalable investment. Robust monitoring and community-run hubs guarantee results, enabling long-term social and financial returns for both public and private partners.