Save the Children Pakistan

We must not forget the crises that the children of the world will carry into 2023˜

Mat Tinkler
As we head into the new year, we cannot afford to leave the world?s most vulnerable children behind.˜˜   As you head into a new year, consider this disturbing fact: the number of children in need of˜ humanitarian support across the world grew by the equivalent of Australia?s entire population in˜ 2022.˜ Our analysis shows there were 149 million children in need in 2022, an increase of 26 million˜ children from the previous year, due to new and protracted conflict, skyrocketing hunger, and the˜ climate crisis.˜ Children like 12-year-old Alisha, who clung onto her mother, Zainab, at an aid distribution centre in˜ Sindh Province, one of the worst flood-affected provinces in Pakistan.˜˜ It had been a few weeks since the initial deluge, but a third of the country was still underwater and˜ families had been displaced, with nowhere to go.˜˜ Even before the floods hit, Zainab struggled to support her family and her children,relying heavily on˜ others in her village to provide them with food and money to survive. Alisha contracted Polio as a young child and lives with a disability as a result.˜˜ Then, during the flooding disaster, Zainab and her seven children lost everything. All they had with˜ them when they went to seek aid was the clothes on their backs.˜˜ Alisha and her siblings are among at least 10 million children in the world who were displaced as a˜ result of climate change in 2020, a number that has only since increased. The floods in Pakistan were˜ labelled ground zero for the climate crisis in 2022, and months after the waters have receded 8.8 million girls and boys in the country require immediate, lifesaving support.˜ The disastrous flooding in Pakistan made news headlines for a few short weeks, but children and˜ communities are still in need of humanitarian assistance. This need will persist well into the new˜ year.˜˜ And Pakistan is not the only crisis in danger of being overlooked or forgotten.˜˜ This year, the world took one step out of the COVID-19 pandemic and another into the worst global˜ cost of living crisis in a generation. We are seeing soaring hunger as conflict, climate change and the˜ economic fallout from COVID-19 cause food insecurity.˜ In developed economies, social safety nets often allow children to emerge from the stress of the˜ pandemic and continue their development and education. But the reality in many countries is that˜ children are unable to go to school, play with their friends, or eat enough to keep them going.˜˜ The UN?s Global Humanitarian Overview for 2023 finds that one in every 23 people will need˜ humanitarian assistance to survive next year ? a staggering 24% increase from a year ago. We know˜ that children are the worst impacted in disasters and emergencies, and these crises are chronically˜ underfunded. Along with Pakistan, the countries where the highest number of children need essential services˜ include Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen, and Syria.˜ The confluence of conflict, climate change and the soaring cost of living is causing so much suffering.˜ ?When the floods hit, we ran from our home to save our lives and left everything else behind: Our˜ house, our clothes, everything we need to live,? said Humaira, a 14-year-old girl who stood in line˜ near Alisha at the aid distribution centre in Pakistan.˜ She watched as her home and school were completely decimated by the floods, and her family lost˜ all their crops, which were nearing harvest.˜ We have found that approximately one-third of the world?s children ? an estimated 774 million ? are ˜now living with the dual impacts of poverty and high climate risk. Meanwhile, the number of ˜children living in countries with the deadliest conflicts increased by 10% this year.˜ While some of these crises seem far removed from our lives, Australia has an important part to play to better protect children facing multiple crises - starting with an increase to the humanitarian aid˜ budget.˜ Every one of us has the power to make a difference. We have the power to influence our MPs to˜ make change ? real change ? and ensure that 2023 is a better year for all children.˜˜ We owe it to children like Alisha and Humaira to do better, and to ensure that as we head into the˜ new year, crises like the one facing Pakistan are not forgotten.˜

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