Science Summit at United Nations General Assembly 77 (UNGA77)

Climate change is increasingly impacting education in Latin America and the Caribbean, as slow and rapid-onset events damage and destroy schools, and impede access of students and teachers to the schools, as well as to potable water, hygiene and adequate nutrition in the school setting. Schools are not only a place of learning, they must provide an environment ensuring wellbeing, which requires sufficient physical resources for the most basic necessities, including safe drinking water, sanitation, adequate hygiene, and food. Furthermore, schools must allow the development of a community, one that is empowered to confront immediate and other challenges involved in adapting to climate change impacts and risks. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) deficiencies are the main cause of climate-sensitive infections and diminished health status in cases of temperature extremes/heatwaves. School meal programs are an important component of education around the world, helping to ensure all students have equal footing at school to reach their potential. Effective interventions and planning are crucial to save children's lives in both complex humanitarian crises, disease outbreaks and public health emergencies, and in contexts of marginalization, inequity and conflict. This panel will explore the impacts of climate change on education, the principles of WASH and the impacts of WASH interventions on children and youth in school settings, and the educational implications of school meal programs in a context of climate change.