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The total number of children displaced by climate-induced disasters in Kenya has increased sevenfold this year as compared to last year, a new report shows.

 An analysis of data from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, reveals that at least 187,000 children in Kenya were left displaced in 2022, compared to 27,000 children that were displaced by similar crises in 2021.

 Among the counties that were most affected include Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit and Turkana.

 According to the report some of these children were displaced multiple times, while others only once, but all remained displaced from home at the end of the year.

 The children, adds the report, ended up seeking refuge in either camps, or had to be hosted by extended family while others had to make temporary arrangements.

Climate shocks

 Save the Children’s Country Director for Kenya and Madagascar Yvonne Arunga (pictured)raised concerns that the impact of climate shocks on children is worrying.  According to her, the figures lay bare the stark reality that the rights of children in Kenya and across the region are being eroded at an alarming rate by the impacts of the climate crisis.

“When children lose their homes, they lose almost everything: their access to healthcare, education, food, and safety. They also lose the building blocks for mental and emotional stability and wellbeing, like a sense of routine, their friends, and the right to play,” said Arunga.

 She added: “We need to urgently scale up climate finance and support adaptation measures that protect children from the worst effects of climate change. We must also ensure that children have access to essential services such as education and healthcare, regardless of their displacement status.”

 Regionally, the number of new internal displacements throughout the year across sub-Saharan Africa in 2022 due to such disasters was three times higher than the previous year.