CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON CHILDREN IN KALOMO UNSETTLES RICAP*

 

 

Zambia's climate is highly variable and over the last few decades has experienced a series of climatic extremes, e.g. droughts, seasonal floods and flash floods, extreme temperatures and dry spells, many of these with increased frequency, intensity and magnitude.

 Over nine million people in 84 out of the 117 districts are affected according to the government crop assessment data. The 2023/2024 rainfall season was characterized by late onset, prolonged dry spells, and high temperatures. This erratic rainfall affected crop and animal production.

 The prolonged dry spells in southern parts of the country coincided with crucial vegetative and flowering stages for staple and economic crops resulting in total crop failure. A total of 982,765 hectares out of an estimated 2,272,931 hectares of maize planted have been destroyed by the drought resulting in total crop failure. These dry conditions have resulted in a significant reduction in crop production in affected regions, with cereal production forecasted to decline by nearly 50 per cent.

 According to the Zambia Meteorological Department, the most affected regions are Central, Eastern, Southern and Western provinces of the country. These provinces have over the past five years contributed over 58 per cent of the annual national maize crop production. These provinces also host over 76 per cent of livestock, that is likely to experience decreased access to pasture and water.

In a Climate stressed Kalomo District in the Southern part of Zambia its another story where some parents are forcing children into early marriages to raise money for food as hunger coping strategy due persistent drought.

Rise Community Aid Programme (RICAP) Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager George Mumbi, who represented RICAP Executive Director Samuel Tundu said Kalomo District in Southern Province is in Zambia's Agro - Ecological Zone 1, which is prone to drought. 

Mr. Mumbi further said agriculture is sometimes affected by drought which threatens food security resulting in malnutrition especially among children. 

He said his organization is hoping to soon implement a donor funded project that hopes to focus on reducing the vulnerability of children and their communities to impacts of Climate Change in selected wards of Kalomo district. 

"On the other hand, when rivers are flooded, children fail to go to school thereby tempering with their Right to Education," he said.

Child marriage is still widespread across the globe where the total number of girls married in their childhood accounts for 12 million per year. One of the targets set in United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5.3) is to end child marriage by 2030, but without increasing the rate of progress “more than 150 million additional girls will marry before their 18th birthday by 2030”.

child marriage issue in regards to climate change and natural disaster should be addressed by governments by ensuring the agencies responsible for addressing climate change and natural disasters participate in developing and implementing the national action plan to end child marriage by 2030.