Save the Children Director in South Sudan, Christopher Nyamandi says the extreme weather is not only disrupting education but also putting children at greater risk of child labour and recruitment into armed groups.

The government has closed schools for at least two weeks as daily reports show an average of 12 students collapsing in Juba, due to the intense heat.

Nyamandi says the world needs to do more to bring the temperatures down.

“Save the Children has been working together with the ministry of education to improve the situation at schools.

Despite all this, there are still thousands of children who are not in school. Taking children away from school because of high temperatures, we also expose the children who are in school to protection risks, including child labour, recruitment into armed groups including early child marriages.

So really this crisis is not just for South Sudan but also the entire world to work on solutions that will bring the temperatures down.”

--Reuters--