‘No safe zone’ for Eastern Caribbean children

One in three children across the Eastern Caribbean lives in an area vulnerable to at least three climate hazards – a figure projected to rise to more than nine in ten by mid-century.

“There is no safe zone in the region and the question is not whether children will be affected, but how severely and how often,” Meru Labs consultant researcher Irina Bird Reddiar said on Wednesday as she presented the findings of the Child-Centred Climate Analysis for Building Resilience at Bay Gardens.

The study found significant exposure among schools and health facilities as rising temperatures, worsening drought, stronger hurricanes and sea-level rise increase climate risks across the region.

It covers Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines, and encompasses approximately 176,000 children.

Conducted by Meru Labs for the UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Area Office in late 2025, the study is the first child-centred, multi-hazard, high-resolution spatial risk assessment for the Eastern Caribbean, according to UNICEF Programme Specialist Clive Murray.

It combines climate data, future projections and local socioeconomic information to identify where children, schools, health facilities and livelihoods are most vulnerable.

More than a third of children, schools and health facilities are currently located in areas exposed to at least three climate hazards.

“By mid-century, under a high-emissions scenario, that could rise to more than nine in ten,” Reddiar said.

The analysis also found that every child, school and health facility across the six countries lies within 100 kilometres of the track of at least one Category Three or stronger hurricane recorded since 1980.

Seven per cent of the region’s children, 12 per cent of schools and 22 per cent of hospitals and clinics are also in low-lying coastal zones below ten metres elevation, leaving them exposed to sea-level rise, storm surge and coastal erosion.

The analysis projects rising temperatures, more frequent drought, warmer seas and further sea-level rise across the six countries by mid-century, increasing the risks facing children and the services on which they depend.

Researchers also found that some threats could overlap, with peak heat and the hurricane season occurring between August and October, coinciding with the beginning of the school year.

The analysis examines how climate shocks affect children through disruptions to education, health, household livelihoods and public finances. It identifies risks ranging from learning loss, illness and interruption of essential services to school dropout, malnutrition, psychosocial distress and lower lifetime earnings.

The findings were presented at the start of a two-day workshop in Saint Lucia bringing together journalists and information officers from across the region to examine the research and strengthen reporting on climate change, disaster risk and their impact on children.

The workshop was organised by UNICEF and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Agency (CDEMA).

CDEMA communications specialist Keith Goddard said the findings reinforced the need for the region to shift from an approach centred on responding to disasters after they occur.

“Our regional disaster management system cannot focus only on responding after an event. We must increasingly anticipate risk, understand its social consequences and use evidence to guide decisions before disaster strikes,” he said.

Goddard, who delivered remarks on behalf of CDEMA Deputy Executive Director Kester Craig, said the analysis could help governments and development partners direct investments towards communities and services where children are most vulnerable and strengthen schools and critical infrastructure.

“When a disaster damages a school, a child loses more than a building. They can lose access to education, a safe space, social support and a sense of normalcy,” he said.

Goddard also challenged the regional media to help translate the findings into public understanding and action.

“Journalists have the ability to take complex climate and socioeconomic information and bring it into the public conversation. You can help communities understand risk, bring attention to vulnerable groups and ensure that the voices and experiences of children are not lost within the broader climate conversation.”

The report identifies 49 actions aimed at reducing climate risks to children, spanning measures before disasters, immediate post-disaster support, longer-term investments in resilient infrastructure and livelihoods, and changes to climate and disaster financing.

Murray said the launch should mark the beginning of action rather than the end of the research process.

“The evidence is now before us. Our task is to use it to strengthen policies and systems, invest in anticipatory action, build more resilient services, and mobilise climate financing that puts children at the centre.”

Saint Lucia’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Sustainable Development Lisa Jawahir also urged governments to turn the findings into policy and investment.

“We must move from evidence to policy, from policy to investment, and from investment to measurable improvements in the lives of our people,” she said.

Jawahir said children should not be seen only as vulnerable recipients of assistance but as active participants in building resilience.

“Their voices matter. Their security matters. Their ideas matter, and of course their future matters,” she added.

UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Area Office Representative Maryam Abdu similarly called for greater investment in adaptation, more resilient schools, health systems and communities, stronger social protection and financing directed towards those most exposed to climate risks.

“Data must lead to decisions. Decisions must lead to investment, and investment must lead to greater resilience for people and communities.”

Abdu also stressed the need to involve children in decisions about the climate response.

“They bring ideas, they bring urgency, and they bring a clear stake in the decisions we make today. Nothing about their future should be decided without listening to them.

“A resilient Caribbean begins with resilient children. Let us place them at the centre of our climate response. Let us invest in their future. And let us act with th

The article ‘No safe zone’ for Eastern Caribbean children is from St. Lucia Times.