Children live in a safe and clean environment

Children in Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly those living in poverty, are very vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters and are especially affected by them. Millions of children in the region do not have access to services such as water and basic sanitation.

Latin America and the Caribbean currently experience an increase in the number of natural disasters, as well as health-related emergencies, such as Zika, in addition to other phenomena such as the lack of sustainable access to drinking water or a greater impact of violence and migration.

Despite the significant progress recorded, 82 million people still have no access to basic sanitation services, of which 15 million were still practicing open defecation and 20 million lack access to drinking water. Children, especially those living in poverty, are highly vulnerable to disasters and are severely affected by their impacts. It is estimated that at least 198,000 children live in high or extremely high tropical storm-risk areas and 848,000 children live in extremely high fl­ood-risk areas. 

Recurrent and chronic crises are increasingly affecting the region, an upward trend due to the impact of climate change. The scarcity of statistical data makes it difficult to accurately estimate the child population affected by disasters. However, the frequency and dispersion of disasters, as well as the growth of children, mean that the number of children affected is increasing.

With this background, adaptation to climate change, risk management and the consolidation of response mechanisms, as well as the investment of urban and climate policies, should be a priority.