Climate change an urgent threat to children, pregnant women: UN report
Pregnant women, babies and children face extreme health risks from climate catastrophes that warrant urgent attention, according to a Call for Action released today by United Nations (UN) agencies ahead of the global Conference of the Parties (COP28) negotiations on climate change in Dubai.
Research shows that harm can begin even in the womb, leading to pregnancy-related complications, premature birth, low birthweight and stillbirth. For children, consequences can last a lifetime, affecting development of their bodies and brains as they grow. “Action on climate change often ignores that children’s bodies and minds are uniquely vulnerable to pollution, deadly diseases and extreme weather,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Programmes, Omar Abdi, in a readout released today.
“We do this at our peril. The climate crisis is jeopardising every child’s fundamental right to health and well-being. It is our collective responsibility to listen and put children at the centre of urgent climate action, beginning at COP28.
This is the moment to finally put children on the climate change agenda,” Abdi said.
The Call to Action was released by WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA at an online launch event, alongside an advocacy brief by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH). The Call to Action highlights seven urgent actions to address these mounting risks, including sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, action on climate finance, alongside specific inclusion of the needs of pregnant women, babies and children within climate and disaster-related policies. The agencies also call for more research to better understand impacts of climate change on maternal and child health.
According to the document ‘Protecting maternal, newborn and child health from impacts of climate change’, the effects of climate events on maternal and child health have been neglected, under-reported and underestimated. It highlights that very few countries’ climate change response plans mention maternal or child health, describing this as “a glaring omission and emblematic of the inadequate attention to the needs of women, newborns, and children in the climate change discourse”.
Leaders must take climate mitigation actions that bring major health benefits.
Experts are calling on global leaders to implement climate mitigation actions that could prevent millions of premature deaths worldwide each year, as well as reduce risks of climate change. These include rapid phase-out of fossil fuels and a transition to clean renewable energy, shifting to healthier more sustainable diets, and promoting active modes of transport.
The call comes from the authors of Lancet Pathfinder Commission report, the first comprehensive analysis of global evidence on health benefits of climate action. The analysis quantified health benefits by estimating years of life gained per 1,00,000 population per year (life years gained/100k/pa) from different climate mitigation actions and the resulting reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in kilo (1000’s) tonnes (kt) of CO2 equivalent (CO2eq).
Across all sectors that are included in the report, actions to decarbonise electricity generation led to the greatest median reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (170 kt CO2eq, per 100,000 population, per year). For example— in India, the analysis estimated at least 150 life years gained/100k/pa gained from decarbonising electricity generation. Switching to clean cookstoves in India also resulted in large health benefits from reduced household air pollution, estimated at around 1,250 life years gained/100k/pa. This underscores the need for equitable access to clean energy.