By Raphael Mweninguwe
Media representation of children’s voices during climate crises has remained a distinct challenge in Africa.
In March 2023, when Cyclone Freddy hit Malawi, a country located in Southern Africa, the voices of children in the media were almost muted. The death toll from the cyclone was more than 1,000, with over 600,000 displaced, and more than two million affected overall. However, the media reported these numbers without indicating how many of those affected were children.
When there is a crisis, children face serious dangers: increased poverty, child labour, severe malnutrition, lack of access to clean water, health and sanitation facilities, child marriage, school drop-out and vulnerability to abuses. And yet their voices can’t be heard.
“There is no coverage of diverse voices within the media in Africa, especially when it comes to issues relating to children. The media concentrates on politicians, scientists, climate experts and other government officials,” said Jeffrey Moyo, a Zimbabwean journalist based in Harare.
Moyo said the media has failed to highlight the plight of children, who he says have a voice that needs to be heard.
“In fact, reporting on climate change is often jumbled and has not had an organised focus on children. They rarely or hardly get a voice in matters related to climate change, despite many children in Africa being trapped in a climate crisis,” said Moyo.
The UN agency, UNICEF, indicates that the climate-induced humanitarian crisis in Eastern and Southern Africa is putting 45 million children at risk of poor health, malnutrition, displacement and learning loss.
Despite climate change seriously undermining the health of children, media experts say there is a lack of inclusivity and diversity within the African media space.
“Media coverage of climate change is generally too broad and often fails to specifically highlight children as a vulnerable group. While there are occasional published features, especially during climate-related disasters or global events for children, there isn’t much voice for children in the media,” said Eldson Chagara, journalist and media trainer based in Blantyre, Malawi.
Chagara is of the view that media coverage on climate change is too general. He said the media in Africa is more interested in other issues such as the economy.
“Children’s perspectives, experiences, and needs are often underrepresented despite clear evidence that they face some of the most severe consequences both now and in the future,” said Chagara.
Environmental and Climate Change Expert, Dr Bright Sibale, told Media Diversity Institute that in most cases, the media report general data and not even gender or age disaggregated. “The impacts on children are often reported when there is a once-off disaster such as floods, but not as an ongoing process where impacts are properly documented and reported”.
Reporting issues affecting children is not a priority for many journalists. “For children, there is not much representation. Children are relegated to the sideline,s and platforms for children’s climate voices are limited,” said Sibale.
Chagara is of the same view as Sibale: “In my view, inclusion within the media space on climate change remains limited, especially regarding gender, youth, indigenous communities, and persons with disabilities. While some progress has been made in involving women and youth voices, particularly in global campaigns or at international summits, local media in Africa and elsewhere often still prioritise expert or government voices”.
He said the inclusion of grassroots, marginalised, or vulnerable populations in climate stories is sporadic. He said editorial decisions are driven by elite concerns, funding sources, and accessibility issues, “which marginalise voices from remote or poor communities who experience climate change most acutely”.
Stumbling blocks to media representation, inclusiveness and diversity
Research by Oyero and Salawu says children are the most neglected “species” with millions still living in poverty in Africa. The research indicates that the media in Africa can play a crucial role in ensuring the realisation of children’s many unfulfilled dreams, a responsibility that requires greater capacity.
It points out that one key stumbling block for African media to give a diverse and proper representation of voices is very low capacity, “a situation traceable to lack of skills and inadequate knowledge base”.
Another study points to limited resources and training as factors hindering journalists in Africa from investigating and reporting comprehensively on climate issues.
Addressing the media gap
Chagara said the media needs to prioritise children’s narratives. “One of the best ways is to seek out and include stories directly involving children’s experiences with climate change, through health, education, nutrition, displacement, or trauma.”
He added the media should make use of the available data and use local evidence from the communities where children live.
“Another solution is to partner with child-focused and international organisations like UNICEF, Save the Children, and local CSOs [civil society organisations] that can help access field stories [on children] and expertise,” said Chagara, who added that training was also essential.
“For instance, by offering specialised training in child-sensitive climate reporting, journalists can ethically and effectively cover children’s issues. Advocacy through editorial framing. This means treating children not just as victims but as part of the solution. This can be achieved by highlighting youth-led climate action and school-based resilience programs,” he said.
“For the African media to have an inclusive and diverse coverage on how children are impacted by climate change, it should take an interest in delving deeper into rural communities where more often than not, children are directly impacted by climate change,” said Moyo.
He observed that children living in Africa’s remote areas are facing serious impacts of climate change, such as water crisis, drought, and floods.
Sibale said children should be given high priority, and it is also critical that children themselves are engaged and get involved in raising their voices and sharing their own experiences, fears and expectations.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Media Diversity Institute. Any question or comment should be addressed to [email protected]
