Help us stop plastic pollution!
A call-to-action by West and Central Africa's young people
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Highlights
In the report Generation Plastic, published in November 2024, UNICEF unpacked the impact of plastic on children. Findings on this “silent and insidious health emergency” are stark. Types of hazards, which plastics present for children include toxic exposures from plastic waste; pollution from plastic production; impact of plastic waste on livelihoods and flooding; and toxic chemicals in everyday plastic products. Without stronger policies, plastic production and use are projected to rise by 70 per cent from 2020 to 2040 globally, while mismanaged plastic waste and leakage into the environment will increase by about half. The report’s foreword reminds us all that “this is our moment to act boldly. The plastic crisis is not an abstract challenge – it is a direct assault on the rights of every child to grow up in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment”. There are many ways to act. For UNICEF, one way is to support young people advocating for a solution to the crisis and are often already championing the cause. In West and Central Africa, where plastic pollution affects populations in every aspect of their lives, this is an emergency.
The call to action “Help us stop plastic pollution” (January 2025) was written based on contributions by young people from Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal. The eight youth signatories wrote the text ahead of a UNICEF webinar on youth-led action on plastic pollution.
