More than eight million children displaced by natural disasters in 2019

The number of children internally displaced by violence, conflict and natural disasters increased last year to a record high of approximately 19 million children, says a new United Nations Children's Fund report released Tuesday.

According to the UNICEF study 'Lost at Home', there were 12 million new displacements of children in 2019: 3.8 million of them caused by conflict and violence, and 8.2 million by disasters related mainly to climate events.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only served to worsen the situation of children, as UNICEF Executive Secretary Henrietta Fore warns, noting that millions of children are already in situations of inadequate care and protection.

"When new crises arise, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, these children are especially vulnerable. It is essential that governments and humanitarian partners work together to keep them safe, healthy, learning and protected," she said.

Physical distancing is therefore often not possible in overcrowded camps or unofficial settlements that lack adequate hygiene facilities, creating conditions that are highly conducive to the spread of the disease.

The report analyses the risks faced by internally displaced children such as child labour and marriage or family separation, and includes measures that are urgently needed to protect them.

The study therefore calls for strategic investment and a joint effort by Governments, civil society, the private sector, humanitarian agencies and children themselves to address the specific elements that cause children to be displaced, including violence, exploitation and abuse.

Similarly, UNICEF also calls on governments that are part of the High Level Panel on Internal Displacement, established by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, to take concrete action and invest in providing protection and equitable access to services for all internally displaced children and their families.

According to the report, better quality, timely and accessible data, differentiated by age and gender, is critical to meeting this goal, with the aim of improving collective understanding of how internal displacement affects children and their families.

"Internally displaced children and youth must be able to sit at the table" and be given the opportunity to be part of the solution, says the UN Children's Fund communiqué.