SUMMER FACT-FINDING SERIES:

10 Facts About Climate Change and Poverty

Climate change is a minefield of controversy. But amid all the debate about what should be done about it, when, and at what cost, one thing is clear: each one of us, in every corner of the world, is affected. But, not equally.

According to the World Bank, climate change threatens to place an additional 130 million people into poverty over the next 10 years. Get 10 Facts About Climate Change and Poverty to learn how the two are linked and what child sponsorship is doing to change the outcome.

Fact #1: Climate change doesn’t play fair

The negative impacts of climate change are felt more severely by low-income countries and people living in poverty. They rely on natural resources such as forests and bodies of water day-to-day, and they have limited capacity to cope with the extreme impacts.

Addressing the inequality that climate change has created is at the heart of child sponsorship. At local, national, regional and international levels, we work to mobilize, amplify and harness voices – especially those of children – and change unjust policies, practices, and structures affecting the world’s most vulnerable children.

Fact #2: Climate change fuels hunger

Areas susceptible to natural disasters and extreme weather are home to 80% of the world's population suffering from hunger. Increasingly frequent and severe droughts and floods harm crops, reducing food availability and raising prices. Lower yields lead to hunger, increased competition, community conflict, and amplified hunger.

Child sponsorship provides climate-resilient farming training to families and supports them to build their livelihoods. Together with your partnership, World Vision advocates for national, regional and global policy changes to improve food and nutrition security for the world’s most vulnerable children, families and communities.

Fact #3: Climate change makes water problems worse

Water access is already a major challenge for the impoverished worsened by climate change's droughts, evaporation, and rainfall pattern shifts, impacting already water-scarce areas. Alternatively, growing rainfall and flooding have equally damaging effects. For communities with poor infrastructure, flooding and rising sea levels can be catastrophic.

World Vision has committed to ensuring clean water, sanitation and hygiene for everyone, everywhere we work, by 2030. Thanks to the partnership of child sponsors and donors, every 10 seconds, we reach another person with clean water.

Fact #4: Climate change makes being healthy more difficult

Climate change directly affects health, causing illness, malnutrition, death and injuries from extreme weather events, and water-related disease like diarrhea. Temperature and rainfall changes may alter the geographic range of diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. Limited healthcare access intensifies the health impact of climate-related issues.

Child sponsorship helps families and communities protect and improve their health. Mothers and babies are cared for to give children a healthier start to life. Children receive health care like vaccinations, mosquito nets and checkups, while parents learn about nutrition to get the support they need to feed their children healthy food.

Fact #5: Climate change makes it tough to earn a living

For communities that depend heavily on farming and agriculture for their income, climate change has disastrous effects. Long droughts or other extreme weather events have the potential to wipe out crops and livestock, leaving families unable to provide for their children and searching for alternative options. Climate change can drive child marriage as parents seek to reduce mouths to feed.

Child sponsorship helps families build more resilient livelihoods. People learn how to save money, gain access to micro-loans, develop new work skills and learn how to manage money and a business, helping to build their financial self-sufficiency.

Fact #6: Climate change displaces people

Drought, floods, decreased food supplies and low-income earning options cause desperate families with no other choice but to leave their homes. Alarming levels of displacement and forced migration result from climate change. The number of internally displaced people and refugees will continue to rise with increased climate-related events. Without homes or security, children are especially vulnerable to abuse, neglect and violence.

Your sponsorship gives us the ability to partner with communities in the world’s most vulnerable places for up to 15 years to tackle the root causes of poverty. We are already on the ground, ready to provide emergency relief and help communities to recover and rebuild so they can strengthen their resilience to future disasters.

Fact #7: Climate change can make it harder for children to get to school

When families lose income, food or water sources, or their home, a child’s education is often the last priority. Without a reliable income, parents can’t always afford to send their children to school and may keep them home to help grow food, tend to livestock or earn money. In times of water scarcity, children (who typically collect it) must travel longer distances, often sacrificing school, homework, or playtime.

Sponsoring a child helps families deal with climate change impacts that hinder school attendance and provides children with the necessary support for learning.

Fact #8: Climate change is expensive to adapt to and recover from

The absence of a strong economy in a low-income community prevents recovery from climate emergencies like hurricanes, floods and fires. These cause widespread damage and can wipe away years of hard-fought development gains, like community infrastructure or a family’s home, crops and livestock. Slow recovery heightens hunger risk, hardship, and deepens poverty for families and children.

Through child sponsorship, families and communities receive support to enhance their resilience and effectively confront future challenges. When households have knowledge and resources for a secure future and work together to build a strong community, disaster response skills improve.

Fact #9: Climate change intensifies inequality

Climate change can make the gap between rich and poor wider. Families without savings who are fighting to make ends meet are disproportionally disadvantaged when drought, floods or storms kill their crops or livestock. They may have to sell belongings for any price they can get, while those with financial security are positioned to profit in a crisis.

Child sponsorship empowers children and communities for lasting change, enhancing food security, resilience, savings, education, and more. This fosters family resilience, including in the face of climate change.

Fact #10: Climate change takes a team effort to tackle

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges the world faces today and it can’t be solved by any one person, or community or country. But together, every person, every community, every country can be part of the solution – and all of us will benefit from the change we make.

Child sponsors and donors, along with World Vision staff, volunteers, and communities around the world are partnering together to change the negative effects of climate change and make amazing things happen for the most vulnerable children and families.

Thank you for helping us create a better, fairer future

Your support ensures your sponsored child and their community has the tools they need to overcome the challenges they face because of climate change.

Share this wealth of knowledge with children, grandchildren, family and friends.

And while you’re waiting for our next issue, please visit our Sponsor Support Page. Here, you’ll learn more about World Vision Child Sponsorship, how to send your sponsored child a special gift, and have your questions answered.