Demographic shifts, worsening climate change and rapid technological transformation risk creating a bleak future for young people in the middle of the 21st century, the UN children’s agency has warned in an annual report.
“Children are facing countless crises – from climate shocks to online dangers – and they will intensify in the years ahead,” wrote Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, in a statement to mark the release of the agency’s annual report.
“Decades of progress, especially for girls, are at risk.”
This year, UNICEF is using its report to forecast the future to 2050, identifying three “major trends” that, in addition to unpredictable conflicts, pose a threat to children if policymakers do not act.
The first risk is related to demographic change, as the number of children is expected to remain similar to the current 2.3 billion, but they will represent a smaller share of the larger and ageing world population of around 10 billion.
While the proportion of children will decline in all regions, their numbers will increase in some of the poorest areas, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
This offers the potential to boost economic growth, but only if the new young population has access to quality education, health care and jobs, UNICEF notes.
In some developed countries, children could make up less than 10% of the population by 2050, raising concerns about their visibility and rights in societies geared towards an ageing population.
The second threat is climate change.
If current trends in greenhouse gas emissions continue, by 2050 children will face eight times more heat waves than in 2000, three times more extreme floods and 1.7 times more wildfires, UNICEF predicts.
New technologies, especially artificial intelligence, have the potential to drive new innovation and progress, but they could also deepen existing inequalities between rich and poor countries.
Approximately 95% of people in developed countries have access to the internet, while in the least developed countries the figure is only 26%, often due to a lack of electricity, connectivity or devices.
“Failing to remove barriers for children in these countries, especially those living in the poorest households, is allowing an already disadvantaged generation to fall further behind,” according to UNICEF.
Connectivity also carries risks. The uncontrolled spread of new technologies poses a threat to children and their personal data, making them vulnerable to online predators.
“The children of the future face many risks, but what we wanted to show is that the decisions are in the hands of today’s decision-makers,” Cecile Aptel, deputy director of research at UNICEF, told AFP. | BGNES
.jpeg)
