The intensifying global climate crisis has heightened the frequency of climate-related natural disasters, impacting millions worldwide. With governments facing persistent funding constraints and insufficient preparedness measures, education systems across Eastern and Southern Africa continue to decline, forcing countless children into displacement and poverty, thereby exacerbating long-term inequalities.

A comprehensive policy brief published on April 20 by UNICEF and global consulting firm Dalberg examines data from Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Mozambique, and Zambia. The report analyzes how increasingly severe climate impacts are destroying educational infrastructure and restricting opportunities for the most vulnerable populations, particularly girls, children with disabilities, and other marginalized communities.

The report by UNICEF and Dalberg emphasizes the critical need for climate-resilient educational systems that advance human development, economic growth, and long-term self-sufficiency. Without urgent humanitarian action, it is projected that hundreds of millions of children will fall behind in their education by 2050, leading to billions in lost development potential and diminished life outcomes.

Children are paying the highest price for a crisis they did not create, stated Etleva Kadilli, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa. For the first time, this report reveals the magnitude of climate-related harm to education, yet the impact on children remains largely overlooked in financing decisions. Without stronger prioritization in climate finance, education will continue to bear the worst effects of climate impacts, causing repeated disruptions, Kadilli continued. We must design education systems that anticipate shocks, protect early and foundational learning, and keep schools open. Otherwise, the true cost of climate loss and damage will be measured in lost human potential.

Eastern and Southern Africa rank among the world’s most climate-sensitive regions, hosting approximately one-third of the planet’s most vulnerable countries. UNICEF reports that since 2005, the region has encountered over 700 extreme weather events, with about 75 percent linked to climate change, impacting over 330 million people and resulting in more than 40,000 fatalities.

As of 2024, climate-induced natural disasters have resulted in approximately USD 1.3 billion in damages, primarily due to extensive harm to school infrastructure and costs associated with setting up temporary learning spaces. Since 2005, extreme weather patterns have disrupted the education of more than 130 million children, causing an estimated total loss of USD 120-140 billion in future earnings.

Without immediate intervention, UNICEF projects these losses could increase to between USD 3.3 and 3.8 billion by 2050, nearly tripling in the most vulnerable settings. This would affect approximately 440 to 520 million students, with projected future earnings losses ranging from USD 260 to 380 billion.

Furthermore, recurring climate shocks in Eastern and Southern Africa have been connected to declining school performance, compromised safety, and reduced well-being among school-aged children. The report indicates that widespread heatwaves correlate with decreased cognitive function, lower test scores, and reduced teaching effectiveness among educators.

UNICEF has documented increasing absenteeism and growing psychosocial challenges stemming from school destruction and the loss of supportive social networks. Educational institutions themselves have become increasingly hazardous for both students and teachers, as damaged infrastructure and heat stress further restrict access to safe, equitable, and quality education.

Many in the climate movement believe those affected by climate change are more concerned about it, but that is not the case, even in frontline communities, stated Jennifer Carman, Director of Survey Strategy at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. People in these communities are actually more worried about hazards that directly impact their daily lives, such as extreme heat and power outages — dangers that are intensified by climate change.

These daily struggles faced by children due to climate-related educational disruptions translate into heightened protection risks. A substantial number of school-aged children in these regions have been forced to relocate multiple times, effectively eliminating their access to supervision, stability, and peer support networks. Moreover, the climate crisis continues to undermine livelihoods, increasing economic instability throughout many communities and heightening children’s vulnerability to exploitation, including increased rates of child marriage, child labor, gender-based violence, and recruitment by armed groups.

These risks disproportionately affect girls, children with disabilities, and displaced communities. Despite this, 2023 estimates show that less than 2.4 percent of funding from critical multilateral funds has been allocated to “child-responsive interventions,” with support for education-specific programs remaining minimal. This is significantly lower than national spending in other sectors, such as healthcare. UNICEF estimates that with adequate support, education programs could close the USD 97 billion funding gap needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 targets in low- and middle-income countries.

Without systematically integrating education into climate finance and policy frameworks – including efforts to prevent, reduce, and address loss and damage – countries risk being caught in recurring cycles of disaster recovery spending rather than building sustained resilience, allowing climate shocks to compound educational disruptions and create substantial non-economic losses for children and their future opportunities, the report states.

UNICEF data indicates that investing in education can yield substantial returns, with every USD 1 invested generating $2 to $13 in prevented losses. With the FRLD Board meeting in Livingstone, Zambia, from April 22 to 24, humanitarian organizations and world leaders seek to expand global dialogues crucial for shaping recovery and resilience efforts that could create a brighter future for children in these regions.

Through these dialogues, UNICEF encourages governments, stakeholders, and donors to enhance the integration of education within national climate frameworks, which can be accomplished by explicitly referencing education in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to access “climate and loss-and-damage financing.”

UNICEF also promotes applying a climate-risk approach to domestic education financing, which could help ensure that budget allocations to education sectors are climate-informed and adequately support children’s foundational education and long-term educational continuity.

Moreover, UNICEF emphasizes the importance of expanding and better directing international climate finance for education by encouraging major funding mechanisms to allocate resources specifically for education. FRLD serves as one example, providing financial support for “unavoidable losses” when education systems are not sufficiently resilient to climate shocks.

These frameworks should clearly outline how countries will protect education systems from climate-related loss and damage and enhance learning continuity, enabling governments to align financing from multiple sources – including climate funds and private sector investment – toward sustained, risk-informed education investments that strengthen education systems and reduce future climate impacts, the report states. Such investments today can help break this cycle by protecting learning, reducing future fiscal pressures, and safeguarding children’s development, which is fundamental to long-term human progress.

IPS UN Bureau Report