UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.

UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children’s rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children.

UNICEF insists that the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress.

UNICEF mobilizes political will and material resources to help countries, particularly developing countries, ensure a “first call for children” and to build their capacity to form appropriate policies and deliver services for children and their families.

UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children – victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation, and those with disabilities.

UNICEF responds in emergencies to protect the rights of children. In coordination with United Nations partners and humanitarian agencies, UNICEF makes its unique facilities for rapid response available to its partners to relieve the suffering of children and those who provide their care.

UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority.

UNICEF aims, through its country programmes, to promote the equal rights of women and girls and to support their full participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities.

UNICEF works with all its partners towards the attainment of the sustainable human development goals adopted by the world community and the realization of the vision of peace and social progress enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

The climate crisis is a child rights crisis. Bangladesh ranks 7th among countries most affected by climate-related extreme weather events like cyclones, floods, droughts, storms, heat-waves. It also ranks 15th out of 163 countries where children are at most risk of climate change. An estimated 20 million children Bangladesh are seriously exposed to climate hazards; over five million of them are under the age of five. An estimated 3.3 million vulnerable children in Bangladesh are on the move, with displacement due to climate disruptions as one of the main causes. The number of marriages of girls aged 11 to 14 increased by 50 per cent in years with heatwaves lasting longer than 30 days. 35.5 million children are poisoned by lead, causing severe learning disabilities and hampering them from developing to full potential. Virtually all children in Bangladesh are exposed to air pollution, causing severe respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases and well-being. Air pollution levels vary significantly within the country, with the western regions (Khulna and Rajshahi) more polluted than eastern ones (Sylhet and Chattogram).

Bangladesh’s Children are particularly affected by the impacts of climate change such as direct physical impacts causing injury or death, as well as psychological effects.

Preliminary assessment of secondary information shows that Bangladesh faces one of the highest degrees of vulnerability to climate change impacts, with floods, cyclones, diseases (such as dengue) and droughts being the most prominent and common type of hazards. This low vulnerability is paired with relatively low readiness to deal with the impacts and is reflected in the ND-GAIN index where Bangladesh ranks 160 out of 181 countries. Average temperatures are projected to increase by 1.4 °C and 2.4 °C by 2050 and 2100 respectively, resulting in an almost permanent state of heat wave. Also Bangladesh ’s average cyclonic activity (already one of the highest in the world with on average one severe cyclone every three years) is expected to rise with increasing sea-surface warming and sea level rise and significant impact on populations.

As the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has pointed out, taking their rights and their views into account would lead to more ambitious and effective policies on environmental protection. Effective responses to climate change and environmental degradation for and with children and young people are thus an essential component of UNICEF’s words and actions and a cross-cutting priority in UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025.

Climate change is impacting the delivery and sustainability of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services across Bangladesh. Drinking contaminated water increases the risk of water-released illnesses, including diarrhoea. Repeated bouts of diarrhoea irreversibly impede the mental and physical development of young children.

Ensuring access to climate resilient water and sanitation services in households, schools and healthcare facilities is a key component of UNICEF’s work. However, much work is needed to support the WASH sector to increase the demand for, and availability of, community resilient services.

This UNV will support the UNICEF WASH programme to access and analyse climate science and to understand the implications for the design of climate resilient WASH services.

Support the WASH section to follow-up on the National Adaptation Plan engagements taken as per particular action points specified below.

Under the direct supervision of Chief of WASH, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

– Undertake an assessment of the sources of climate science data for Bangladesh and the applicability of these (or not) to the design of climate resilient interventions for UNICEF.

– Support the development of a climate risk analysis for Bangladesh with a focus on the impact on water and sanitation services.

– Undertake an analysis of the key projects financed with climate finance (Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, Global Environment Facility and Climate Investment Fund) in Bangladesh

– Review the Climate Rationale developed for the WASH sector and identify areas to strengthen it

– Support the team to collect, analyse and document evidence of the impact of climate change on children and on the safely and sustainability of water and sanitation ser-vices, and key hygiene practices.

– Support the capacity building/training on climate science and the application to WASH services.

– Support the assessment of climate resilient water and sanitation services and the identification of steps to be taken in the design.