MANILA — An advocacy group has called on government to do more to mitigate the effects of climate change on children, particularly those from low-income households.

Save the Children Philippines noted the country ranked first in the 2022 World Risk Index with the highest risk of disasters in the world.

"In the Philippines alone, around 5.6 million Filipino families... including children, who are perennially living in poverty and are not able to adapt well to the climate crisis," Save the Children Philippines advocacy director George De La Rama told ANC's "Rundown" Monday.

Save the Children’s "Born into the Climate Crisis" report revealed that children born in 2020 in the Philippines will live through 4.9 times more scorching heatwaves, 2.3 times more river floods, 1.2 times more droughts and 1.5 times more crop failures than their grandparents or people born 60 years ago.

"You can just imagine the generational gap and the generational impact of what's happening to them versus to those who were able to live in the past and how children are bracing themselves for the future with the impacts they are experiencing right now," De La Rama added.

In a statement, Save the Children Philippines CEO Atty. Albert Muyot stressed that no child deserves to grow up in poverty and an unsafe environment.

"But the reality is grim. Millions of Filipino children remain poor due to inequality and discrimination, and their situation is exacerbated by the climate crisis," he said. "Many of them lack access to basic services on health, education, proper nutrition, or adequate housing."