Climate crisis to push 150M more Africans into poverty by 2050, experts warn

By Timothy Olanrewaju

DAKAR, Senegal (AA) - Climate crisis in Africa will push 150 million more people into poverty by 2050, experts warned on Tuesday.

Magda Robalo Silva of the Institute for Global Health and Development and former health minister of Guinea Bissau said floods and droughts are forcing huge populations of Africa to move from their farmlands, denying them access to good nutrition.

"This is causing malnutrition and other infectious diseases in most African nations. If we do not act quickly, an additional 150 million people will be pushed into poverty in Africa before 2050," Silva warned while addressing a leadership forum in Dakar to find solutions to the climate change crisis in Africa.

Over 100 youths from 16 African nations attended the forum, hosted by Gallen Africa, a pan-African group concerned with health.

Former Senegalese health minister and Gallen Africa chair, Awa Marie Seck, said climate crisis was no longer an abstract concept but a "big threat" to public health in Africa.

She called for inter-generational synergy between older people and youths through the use of digital platforms to share information and experience among counties.

Most of the African nations, including Niger, Chad, Nigeria, Mali, Cameroon, and DR Congo, are facing devastating floods since June this year. Hundreds of people have been killed while millions of others affected by floods.