Child health prioritisation in national adaptation policies on climate change: a policy document analysis across 160 countries.
Journal: The Lancet. Child & adolescent health
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Affiliated Institutions:
Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: kathrin.zangerl@uni-heidelberg.de.
Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany; Children in All Policies , University College London, London, UK.
Center for Preventive Medicine and Digital Health, Division of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Children in All Policies , University College London, London, UK; International Health Department, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Institute for Global Health and Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction, University College London, London, UK; University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway.
Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany; Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden; Heidelberg Interdisciplinary Centre for Scientific Computing, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany; Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa; Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany; International Health Department, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Abstract summary
Integration of child-specific adaptation measures into health policies is imperative given children's heightened susceptibility to the health impacts of climate change. Using a document analysis method, we examined 160 national adaptation policies for inclusion of child-relevant measures and identified 19 child health-related adaptation domains. 44 (28%) of 160 countries' policies that were analysed failed to include any domains, 49 (31%) included at least one child-related domain, 62 (39%) included between two and six domains, and five (3%) included at least seven domains. Predominant domains among child-specific adaptation measures included education and awareness raising, followed by community engagement and nutrition. No country addressed children's direct needs in the domain of mental health. National adaptation policies tend towards overly simple conceptualisations of children across four major lenses: age, social role, gender, and agency. Limited inclusion of child-specific measures in national adaptation policies suggests insufficient recognition of and action on children's susceptibility to climate change effects.
Authors & Co-authors:
Zangerl Kathrin E KE
Hoernke Katarina K
Andreas Marike M
Dalglish Sarah L SL
Kelman Ilan I
Nilsson Maria M
Rockloev Joacim J
Bärnighausen Till T
McMahon Shannon A SA
Study Outcome
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