Children’s health constitutes the fundamental strongpoint for building resilient societies and securing a sustainable future. Accordingly, advanced nations accord special attention to this important matter through thought-out and synchronous measures that enable children to grow properly, augment learning, achieve upward mobility, and integrate successfully into society. These efforts are set in motion through coordinated strategies that square with the objectives of physical development, cognitive advancement, and disease prevention, supported by scrupulously implemented programs and sustained commitment. Against the backdrop of a world confronting an avalanche of challenges, ranging from climate volatility and digital pressures to mounting social strains, safeguarding children’s mental wellbeing and educational attainment has become an imperative rather than a mere window-dressing exercise. Such efforts are essential to foreclose any deterioration that could snowball into alarming proportions, while reinforcing healthy habits, balanced nutrition, and supportive family and school environments that enhance readiness for learning and reduce the long-term risk of chronic diseases. The world has witnessed remarkable progress over recent decades in reducing mortality among children under five years of age. Official figures released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) show that 37 children per 1,000 live births died in 2022, compared with 93 in 1990. These developments eloquently indicate the effectiveness of advances in diagnosis, monitoring, medical intervention, and preventive healthcare, alongside the growing capacity of health systems to address complications associated with modern childbirth. Despite mounting evidence regarding the impact of climate change on children’s health and development, much of the existing research has hitherto been focused on the effects of individual hazards in societies facing climate-related hardships or intractable conflicts. Such conditions frequently trigger displacement and migration under circumstances that may culminate in humanitarian catastrophes. Among the principal threats are extreme heat, drought, wildfires, floods, storms, air pollution, and ecosystem disruption. A Unicef report issued earlier this week concludes that a combination of endogenous factors and exogenous factors -- including water scarcity and contamination, food insecurity, pollution, infrastructure damage, service disruption, and displacement -- affects virtually every aspect of children’s health, from pregnancy through adolescence. The report notes that harsh climatic conditions and the absence of a supportive environment can contribute to premature births and lower birth weights, while rendering newborns and infants more vulnerable to mortality associated with air pollution and extreme heat. Malnutrition, which remains responsible for approximately half of all deaths among children under five worldwide, together with infectious and communicable diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and the Zika virus, continues to exact a staggering humanitarian toll. These conditions frequently emerge in polluted environments and unsanitary settings and may generate a lasting psychological and humanitarian malaise that extends well into adulthood. The antecedents of children’s vulnerability are rooted in the developmental stage of their organs and immune systems. As these systems continue to mature, children are less equipped to withstand climate-related stresses. They often lack immunity to certain diseases because vaccines may be unavailable, incomplete, or inaccessible. Moreover, the ongoing development of respiratory and cardiovascular systems leaves them particularly susceptible to climate-related hazards, exacerbating respiratory illnesses and undermining overall health outcomes. The risk of death among children under five in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia is 80 times higher than in developed countries. Unicef’s Children’s Climate Risk Index, published in 2021, found that 1bn children were highly exposed to the consequences of the climate crisis, the report shared. Among them, 559mn children experienced severe heat exposure, a figure projected to exceed 2bn by 2050, underscoring the threat of an increasingly volatile climate future, it added. In 2022, approximately 953mn children worldwide were exposed to water stress, while 182mn people across 108 countries were affected by at least one climate-related disaster. The same year witnessed nearly 43.1mn cases of child displacement, meaning that close to 20,000 children were forced to leave their homes every day. Executive Director of Unicef, Catherine Russell, says that the Climate Risk Report eloquently indicates where these risks occur and the extent of their severity, and it can help governments and other decision-makers improve planning and investment in a more effective way in basic service systems. For his part, Executive Director of Unicef National Committee for Germany, Christian Schneider, said that children and young people are the least responsible for climate change, yet they are disproportionately the most affected. He urged the German government to take stronger climate action and provide more support to the most vulnerable countries. According to Unicef, climate risks often overlap and snowball into alarming proportions, compounding one another. Around 300mn children live in areas simultaneously exposed to drought, extreme heat, and heatwaves, while more than 115mn children face drought, extreme heat, and tropical storms together. The Sahel region in Africa is among the most affected areas, where more than 4mn children are exposed simultaneously to heatwaves, extreme heat, and sand and dust storms. In Asia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Pakistan are particularly affected by these factors. International reports indicate that the severity of harm is determined by factors of inequality and vulnerability to which children are exposed based on socio-economic status, gender, location, current health condition, the circumstances of the country concerned and its capacity, as well as vulnerabilities that had hitherto been associated with children throughout their lives. If these findings and causes are considered, then a question arises among researchers and experts regarding measures that can reduce these climate impacts and provide conditions for a more stable childhood, ensuring sustainable development and societies that come closer- even minimally-to internationally accepted standards, recognizing that what cannot be achieved in full should not be entirely abandoned. The first of these requirements is mitigating the burdens of climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, industrial smoke, and vehicle emissions so that global warming does not exceed the 1.5°C threshold. Wealthy, high-income countries must take thought-out and urgent mitigation measures to reduce emissions and provide support to low- and middle-income countries to assist their energy transition. In this context, the adoption of sustainable energy in sectors providing essential services for children comes into focus, along with the transition to green infrastructure and social awareness of its integration into daily life, and increasing the use of advanced mechanisms and modern technologies to accelerate efforts to augment the mitigation of climate impacts on children, including universal access to modern fuels and cooking technologies, in order to reduce emissions and child deaths caused by household air pollution. The extraction and excessive, unregulated use of natural resources, along with the widespread spread of infections due to pollution and waste, have exacerbated climate change, increased toxic pollution of water, air, and soil, led to ocean acidification, and destroyed biodiversity and ecosystems that sustain life in general. The Declaration of the 28th Conference of the Parties on Climate and Health recognises that it is significant to protect communities and prepare healthcare systems to address the health impacts of climate factors such as extreme heat, air pollution, and changing disease patterns. The participating parties have also agreed on international adaptation goals, specifically aiming to build resilience against climate-related health impacts and reduce climate-related morbidity and mortality.
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