The world is witnessing the consequences of climate change: long-lasting changes in temperature and rainfall, and more intense and frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves, hurricanes, typhoons, flooding and drought. All make it harder for families and communities to meet their care needs. Climate change affects care systems in various ways.
First, sudden illnesses and unexpected disabilities heighten the need for care. Second, it reduces access to important inputs for care such as water, food and safe shelter. Third, it can damage physical and social care infrastructures.
It can also lead to breakdowns of traditional units of caregiving such as households and communities. And it creates new situations of need with the increase in displaced person settlements and refugee camps. Climate change creates sudden spikes in the demand for care, and serious challenges to meeting the growing need for care.
All this has immediate and long lasting effects on human well-being. The size of the current unmet care needs throughout the world is substantial. In childcare alone, about 23% of children worldwide —nearly 350 million—need childcare but do not have it.
Families in low- and lower-middle-income countries are the most in need. Similarly, as the world's population ages rapidly, only a small proportion of the elderly who need assistance are able to use formal care (in an institution or paid homecare). Most are cared for by family members or other unpaid caregivers.
Much of.
