● Nearly 634 million people (10% of world’s population) live less than 10 meters above sea level and near the coast, a high-risk zone for floods and storms. Another 2 billion people live in desolate and arid lands. ● The poor who are most vulnerable and least able to cope with disasters account for 97% of people who die as a result of natural disasters in developing countries. ● Climate change is no longer a purely environmental issue, but will become an underlying cause of natural disasters and humanitarian needs. ● Rising sea levels and more frequent natural disasters are making many regions become inhabitable. ● Climate change will redraw the distribution of the world’s population, wealth, and resources. Bangladesh, located in the Ganges Delta and known as the rice barn of Asia, has seen sea levels rise 50 centimeters in the last century. As a result, hundreds of square kilometers of lands have eroded, thousands of people have been displaced, and many farmers have lost their fields and livelihood. Scientists warn if sea levels continue to rise, entire coastal communities will be wiped out, which will displace millions of people, cause enormous economic losses, and severe food shortages. In western sub-Saharan Africa, 93% of farmlands depend on rainwater for irrigation. In some of the countries, thousands of square kilometers of land become dry and barren every year, forcing farmers and herders to relocate to coastal regions. To respond to climate-related disasters, World Vision will invest more resources in high-risk countries and regions, especially those with area development programs (ADPs) funded by Taiwan through Child Sponsorship. World Vision hopes to reduce the impact of floods, storms, and droughts on sponsored children and their families by building community capacity in disaster preparedness and mitigation.