Loss and damage case studies

This case study shares insights from the Culture Dose for Kids (CDK) project, an arts-based mental health intervention delivered between 2021 and 2024 to children aged 9–12 and their families in communities affected by the Black Summer bushfires in Australia. The bushfires resulted in significant psychosocial impacts on children, including heightened anxiety and disrupted well-being. The case highlights the importance of integrating non-clinical arts-based interventions into disaster recovery and loss and damage financing frameworks to ensure sustained, child-centred psychosocial support in climate-affected communities.

This case study examines the development and implementation of a shock-responsive social protection (SRSP) model in Bosnia and Herzegovina to address losses and damages arising from flooding. Recurrent floods pose significant economic and non-economic impacts on children and vulnerable families, including disruptions to basic needs, education, health and psychosocial well-being. The case highlights how integrated, risk-informed social protection systems can serve as a scalable loss and damage intervention that strengthens resilience and protects children in the face of sudden-onset climate events.

This case study explores UNICEF’s partnership with the Honduran Red Cross to address the impacts of hurricanes Eta and Iota on children and adolescents in Honduras, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. The hurricanes caused significant economic and non-economic losses and damages, including disrupted education, loss of livelihoods, adverse impacts linked to displacement, and acute psychosocial distress among children. The case highlights the effectiveness of flexible, community-driven, child-centred approaches in addressing climate-related loss and damage, while underscoring the need for sustained funding to support longer-term psychosocial recovery and resilience.

This case study documents the rapid response of Kisumu Shinners, a youth-led community-based social enterprise, to the River Nyando floods in Kenya in May 2024, which caused widespread displacement and loss of livelihoods. The floods had severe impacts on children, including disruptions to health care, nutrition, psychosocial well-being and household income, particularly for families dependent on agriculture. The case study highlights the critical role of community-based organizations in mitigating climate-related losses and damages for children through timely, context-relevant support, while underscoring the need for accessible and sustained loss and damage finance to enable such organizations to scale and sustain their interventions.

This case study examines UNICEF Lao PDR’s child protection response to severe flooding in Attapeu Province, which combined emergency and recovery actions with system-strengthening measures. The flooding caused significant economic and non-economic losses and damages for children, including psychosocial distress, heightened protection risks, disrupted education and negative coping strategies such as child labour and child marriage. The case underscores the importance of sustained and dedicated loss and damage financing to scale such integrated approaches and address longer-term psychosocial and livelihood impacts on children.

This case study examines UNICEF’s Today & Tomorrow Initiative (TTI) in Madagascar, which responds to recurrent cyclones that cause widespread economic and non-economic losses and damages for children by combining parametric insurance with grant-based funding. Cyclones in Madagascar disrupt education, health care, food security and child protection, exposing children to immediate harm while also undermining long-term resilience. The case demonstrates how flexible, integrated financing models can effectively address complex, cross-sectoral losses and damages affecting children in climate-vulnerable contexts by providing immediate support while also building long-term resilience.

This case study examines Save the Children’s response to the catastrophic 2022 floods, which caused widespread economic and non-economic losses and damages for children in Sindh and Baluchistan provinces in Pakistan. The floods severely disrupted education, livelihoods, health and child protection, increasing risks of learning loss, child labour and food insecurity among vulnerable households. The intervention demonstrated the value of integrated, protection-focused responses in mitigating the cascading impacts of climate-related disasters on children, while highlighting the need for sustained and participatory loss and damage financing to address long-term vulnerabilities.

This case study examines UNICEF Peru’s cash transfer and child protection response to cyclone-related flooding in northern Peru in 2023, which caused significant economic and non-economic losses and damages for children, adolescents and vulnerable households. The floods disrupted livelihoods, housing, health care and education, placing children at heightened risk of secondary harms such as exploitation, violence and service interruption. The case highlights the role of child-responsive social protection as a flexible tool for addressing climate-related loss and damage, while underscoring the need for sustained and scalable financing to reach more children and address longer-term impacts.

This case study examines UNICEF’s Building Resilience in the Sahel (BRS) programme in Mali, Mauritania and the Niger, which addressed the compounded impacts of climate change and conflict on children. Recurrent climate shocks interacting with fragility and insecurity caused significant economic and non-economic losses and damages, including malnutrition, disrupted education, inadequate access to health and WASH services, and heightened child protection risks such as child labour and child marriage. The programme demonstrates how long-term, flexible financing and partnerships with local organizations can mitigate cascading climate- and conflict-related losses and damages and build resilience for children in fragile settings.

This case study describes Save the Children’s locally led anticipatory action programme in Maban County, which aimed to reduce flood-related losses and damages for children by empowering communities to take proactive, context-specific measures. The intervention demonstrates the importance of decentralizing decision-making, strengthening early warning systems, and supporting locally defined action plans for enhanced resilience, reduced vulnerability, and improved adaptive capacities for children and their families. It highlights the importance of dedicated loss and damage financing to support comprehensive, long-term solutions for children and communities exposed to climate hazards.

This case study of an intervention by Plan International Tanzania and the Sharon Ringo Foundation highlights how children, families, and communities in Kisarawe District were empowered to respond to climate-related hazards through school-based climate education, where children, teachers, and local officials gained knowledge and skills to manage slow- and sudden-onset events. This case study underscores the need for transparent, accessible, and sustained Loss and Damage financing with direct access for NGOs and CBOs, integrating child-specific considerations into climate adaptation, mitigation, and disaster risk reduction to ensure locally led, scalable, and child-centered interventions.

This case study examines the Addressing Protection Risks in Humanitarian Settings programme in Timor-Leste, which responded to flooding and landslides affecting children in four municipalities. These interventions addressed both economic and non-economic losses and damages, including disrupted education, psychosocial stress, and risks of abuse or exploitation. The case study demonstrates the importance of enhancing local preparedness, building the capacity of social service workers, and fostering community ownership, underscoring the need for sustained funding, anticipatory measures, and child participation in planning and response.

This case study examines UNICEF’s response to Typhoon Yagi and subsequent floods in northern Viet Nam, where children faced immediate and long-term losses and damages. Interventions addressed both economic and non-economic impacts, including disrupted education, malnutrition, psychosocial stress, and risks of gender-based violence, while promoting resilience and continuity of essential services. The programme highlights the need for a multisectoral approach, which integrates accountability to affected populations and child protection principles, as well as the importance of a coordinated, child-focused interventions in climate-related disaster response.