Climate change seems to be blighting large parts of Africa. The effects are more pronounced than in the industrialized world, and people in developing nations are less able to deal with them.
VIDEO: UNICEF correspondent Chris Niles reports on how climate change is altering the lives of traditional communities in Ethiopia and Kenya, and how UNICEF and the European Union are working with them on sustainable solutions.
To help address this situation, UNICEF and the European Union are working with communities that must now change in order to survive. They are doing so through sustainable programmes that give these communities responsibility for their own safe water and sanitation.
Nomadic peoples must adapt
In northern Kenya, for example, the semi-nomadic Samburu peoples’ lives are rapidly being reshaped by forces they cannot control. Unable to move their livestock to new pastures when the rains don't come, the semi-nomadic Samburu people of northern Kenya are suffering the effects of climate change.
The Tigray region of Ethiopia faces similar problems. There, land that was once rich and lush has been stripped of life. Ample, clean water exists only as a treasured memory for octogenarian Meles Gebregziabhere.
Sustainable development
It is a sad irony that Africa, which has contributed less to greenhouse gas emissions than other continents, is bearing some of the worst effects of climate change.
As the land and people’s lives change beyond recognition. UNICEF and the European Union are striving for sustainable development, so that communities can manage their own water resources and enjoy safe water and sanitation.
Read the full story on our blog climate change alters lives in Kenya and Ethiopia