Asia's child exploitation risk worsened by climate change, UN expert warns

Philippines, India top list of children displaced by extreme weather

20231222 Philippine children

Children play at an evacuation center for people displaced by flash floods caused by monsoon rains in Manila, pictured in August 2018. A UNICEF survey found the Philippines had the most children displaced by climate disasters between 2016 and 2021. © Reuters

NANA SHIBATA, Nikkei staff writer

JAKARTA -- The risk of child exploitation increases when children are displaced due to climate disasters, a senior official of UNICEF warned, as several Asian nations are predicted to have high numbers of displaced persons in the coming decades.

In a recent interview with Nikkei Asia, Rachel Harvey, the UN agency's child protection adviser for the East Asia and Pacific region, said weather-related disasters can exacerbate or expose children to serious risks, such as exploitation, trafficking and violence. She called for public measures to protect them as climate change intensifies.

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