Record drought in Amazon affects 420,000 children: UNICEF | National news

More than 420,000 children in the Amazon basin have been severely affected by a drought that has gripped much of South America, affecting water supplies and river transport, UNICEF said on Wednesday.

A record-breaking drought is damaging indigenous and other communities in Brazil, Colombia and Peru that depend on sea connectivity, the UN agency said.

“We are witnessing the destruction of an important ecosystem that families rely on, leaving many children without access to adequate food, water, health care and schools,” UNICEF chief Catherine Russell said in a statement.

The resulting food insecurity has increased children’s risk of malnutrition, the agency said, and less access to safe drinking water could fuel an increase in infectious diseases.

In the Brazilian Amazon region alone, more than 1,700 schools and more than 760 health clinics were closed or inaccessible due to low river levels.

In the Colombian Amazon, 130 schools have suspended classes due to a lack of drinking water and food. In Peru, more than 50 clinics were unavailable.

UNICEF said it would need $10 million in the coming months to help affected communities in the three countries, including by providing water and sending medical teams.

Meteorological agencies such as NASA’s Earth Observatory and the EU’s Copernicus Service say the drought in the Amazon basin since the second half of last year was caused by the 2023-2024 El Niño climate phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean.

Brazilian experts said that the climate crisis is also to blame.

Insufficient rains and the shrinking of vital rainforest rivers have fueled wildfires, disrupted hydroelectric power production and dried up crops in parts of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

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