El Nino drought forces African children out of school and into child labour or early marriage
Child labour
A girl tries to collect water from a puddle in Nongoma, South Africa
Tens of thousands of children across southern Africa are being pushed out of school and into early marriage or child labour because of drought and hunger caused by the El Nino weather pattern, charities have said.
Southern Africa has been hard hit over the past year by an听El Nino-inspired drought that has wilted crops, slowed economic听growth and driven food prices higher.
Increased numbers of children are trading sex and doing听domestic work to survive across nine countries, a report by听World Vision, the United Nations Children国产视频檚 Fund (UNICEF) and听Plan International said.
国产视频淓l Nino国产视频檚 impacts are worsening the lives of children in a听number of areas with many facing sexual exploitation, violence,听child labour and psychosocial distress,国产视频 World Vision UK国产视频檚 child听rights expert Tracy Shields said in a statement.
Food crisis may affect children国产视频檚 development
Children have become separated from their families as they听leave home to find work or food, the report said.
Our report reveals 国产视频渟ting in the tail国产视频 of El Nino as school dropout rates soar https://t.co/J4DFTUs12H Millions need help in coming months
国产视频 World Vision UK (@WorldVisionUK) July 20, 2016
More than 60 million people, two-thirds of them in east and听southern Africa, are facing food shortages because of droughts听linked to El Nino, a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the听Pacific Ocean, according to the United Nations. 听听
The arrival of La Nina, a weather pattern which usually听bringing floods to southern Africa, could worsen the situation,听the UN has said. Meteorologists predict a 50% to 75% chance of La Nina听developing in the second half of this year.
Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe have听declared national drought emergencies.
South Africa has declared a drought emergency in eight of听the country国产视频檚 nine provinces, while Mozambique has declared an听alert for some southern and central areas.
Southern Africa has a three-month window of opportunity听before the 2016-17 planting season, to take urgent measures to听prevent millions of rural families becoming dependent on听humanitarian assistance in 2018, the UN has said.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, covers humanitarian news, women国产视频檚 rights, corruption and climate change.
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