UNICEF, CCCCC strengthen partnership to advance child centered climate action across the Caribbean

BELMOPAN, Belize (CMC) — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will strengthen collaboration to protect children’s rights and well-being in the face of the growing impacts of climate change across the Caribbean. The five-year partnership establishes a framework for joint action to integrate child-sensitive climate policies, build resilient social services, strengthen climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction efforts, and empower young people to participate meaningfully in climate action and decision-making. Climate-related hazards, such as hurricanes, flooding, droughts, extreme heat, and environmental degradation, increasingly affect children in the Caribbean.

These impacts threaten access to education, healthcare, safe water and sanitation, nutrition and protection services. Through this partnership, UNICEF and CCCCC will work together to ensure that climate responses better reflect and address the unique vulnerabilities and needs of children and young people. “Climate change is not only an environmental challenge; it is a child rights challenge,” said UNICEF Representative Sajid Ali, noting that “children are among those least responsible for the climate crisis, yet they bear some of its greatest consequences”.

“This partnership with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre will help ensure that climate policies, investments and programmes across the region put children at the centre and strengthen the services and systems they rely on every day.” Under the agreement, the two organisations will collaborate to strengthen child-sensitive climate governance, support climate-resilient education, health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems, and promote child-responsive social protection and disaster preparedness measures. They will also work together to generate evidence, mobilise resources and expand knowledge on effective approaches to climate resilience that benefit children and communities. CCCCC executive director, Dr Colin Young, welcomed the partnership, noting that regional climate action must consider the needs and perspectives of future generations.

“It is a well-known fact that children and youth have not been a central focus of climate resilience programming, either regionally or globally.