Action for Children 2025: Building Safer, Greener and Peaceful Environments
The start of each new year brings renewed hope: hope that conditions for every child born that year and the years before and after, will promote their healthy development. Yet the headlines in 2024 revealed increasing risks for children and their families, particularly young children. Most recently, in California, the contribution of abnormal weather activity to the rapid spread of wildfires has led to ongoing devastation impacting children’s air quality, shelter, and access to resources. Conflict, displacement, extreme heat, air pollution, drought and a host of other environmental risks disrupt children’s physical, psychosocial and mental development, preventing them from meeting their full potential. This has to change.
As UNICEF pointed out, in 2024 children faced “never ending conflicts” with the world experiencing the highest number of conflicts since World War II. UNICEF reported that more children than ever were estimated to be either living in conflict zones or forcibly displaced due to conflict and violence. More than one in six children globally live in areas affected by conflict and the percentage of children living in conflict zones has doubled since the 1990s.
At the same time, the impact of the changing climate continued to make headlines in 2024. Heat waves shuttered schools and caused drought, negatively affecting health, nutrition and child well-being. Torrential rains caused flooding, loss of lives, livelihoods and housing. The Choking Futures: How Air Pollution Robs the Breath of Our Youngest report explores the harmful effects of air pollution and its impact on the lungs making everyone more vulnerable, particularly babies. In June 2024, WHO warned of serious health impacts of climate change for pregnant women, children and the elderly.
While conflict, destruction, and displacement feel overwhelming and are hard to face– we cannot look away. This is not the world that children deserve: yesterday, today, or tomorrow. We must bear witness to these realities while we stand up to improve the environments for all children and families. We all have the ability to take action. You can:
Document, share and disseminate stories from your own communities. Partner with local organizations (e.g. religious groups, civic groups, and higher education) and amplify voices especially those most vulnerable and limited in their ability to shield themselves from harmful exposure such as children and families from poor and marginalized backgrounds.
Call for child-sensitive climate policies to be included in climate response plans. Continue to learn and advocate for energy-efficient policies and innovations, reduction of carbon emissions, lead pollution and other environmental risks that harm children and negatively influence development outcomes.
Take steps to green early education. Promote empathy and respect for others, nurturing a new generation that cares for the earth and each other. Meaningfully engage parents and communities to foster a collective effort to protect the environment.
Work toward emergency preparation and response that addresses the needs of young children and families. Advocate for the integration of nurturing care as the right of all children and as an essential ingredient to assure public health, child protection measures, as well as child and family support services.
Find the courage to talk about peace, raise awareness of ongoing conflicts and violence (e.g. Sudan, Gaza, Haiti, Ukraine, and other countries and communities around the world). Affirm that armed conflict is not an option and call on leaders to stop the violence that is seriously affecting the well-being of children and in many cases, worsening environmental issues.
Every step counts. We cannot wait for someone else to stand up and support children and families. We are at the start of a new year and the time is now. Let's resolve to work together for a better world and a future of hope.
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About the Authors:
Joan Lombardi, Ph.D. is Director at Early Opportunities and Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s Collaborative on Global Children's Issues.
Fabiola A. Lara is Founder and Principal Consultant at EquaNurture.
This blog originally appeared on EquaNurture.