Egypt’s children are the most vulnerable to climatic and environmental shocks, said UNICEF

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UNICEF has said that Egypt’s children are the most vulnerable to climatic and environmental shocks in the Middle East and North Africa. The country is ranked among the “high-risk” lands on the Child Climate Risk Index.

According to the index, which documents the effects of climate change on several levels and measures children’s exposure to climate risks, Egypt ranked high in four of seven environmental risks.

The index is based on dividing the risks for children into two groups. The first is the dangerous climatic changes children are exposed to in their countries. It is calculated based on water scarcity, extreme heat waves, coastal floods, air, water and soil pollution, and infectious diseases. The second is the extent to which children are vulnerable or resilient in facing these risks. It is determined by measuring levels of health, nutrition, education, social protection networks and rates of poverty and inequality. Egypt got the worst score in the first, with 7.3 out of ten. It also recorded moderate risks in terms of infectious diseases and water scarcity and very high risks in terms of air, soil and water pollution. Egypt scored the maximum with 10 points with coastal floods, becoming the worst by a significant difference from Libya.