Climate-Related Hazards, Urbanization and the Fate of Africa’s Children: A Child-Sensitive Policy Reflection from Uganda
Jonathan Tumwebaze
ABSTRACT
Climate change and rapid urbanization are increasingly shaping the lived realities of children in Africa, with disproportionate effects on the poorest and most vulnerable. Uganda presents a particularly salient case: it combines one of the fastest urbanization rates in sub Saharan Africa with escalating climate-related hazards, including rising temperatures, recurrent droughts, flooding, landslides, and water contamination. While the majority of Uganda’s population remains rural, urban growth driven largely by internal migration and natural population increase is accelerating, with children and youth constituting a large share of new urban residents.
This paper provides a child-sensitive policy reflection on the intersection of climate-related hazards and urbanization in Uganda, with a particular focus on the Kampala Metropolitan Area. Drawing on a thematic analysis of national and sectoral policy documents published between 2015 and 2025, the study examines how climate shocks and urban pressures affect children’s welfare, including health, nutrition, education, protection, and living conditions. The analysis highlights persistent gaps between Uganda’s strong normative commitment to children’s rights and the limited integration of child-sensitive approaches within climate and urban policy frameworks. The paper argues that without deliberate child-centred planning, climate-resilient urban development risks deepening existing inequalities and exposing urban children to compounded vulnerabilities. It concludes by proposing policy-relevant reflections to strengthen child-sensitive climate adaptation, urban governance, and social protection in Uganda.
