In a joint statement, United Nations agencies have sounded the alarm on the extreme health risks faced by pregnant women, babies, and children in the wake of climate catastrophes, urging global leaders to prioritise their protection.
News About Nigeria reports that the call, released ahead of the Conference of the Parties negotiations on climate change in Dubai, emphasises the neglected and underestimated impacts of climate events on maternal and child health.
“Climate change is a major intergenerational injustice of our times. Safeguarding the health and rights of women, children, and adolescents is non-negotiable in the face of the climate crisis,” said Rt Hon Helen Clark, PMNCH Board Chair and former Prime Minister of New Zealand.
The Call for Action highlights seven urgent measures to address the escalating risks. These include sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, climate finance initiatives, and the specific incorporation of the needs of pregnant women, babies, and children into climate and disaster-related policies.
The document reveals a significant gap in climate change response plans globally, with few countries mentioning maternal or child health.
This omission is described as a ‘glaring omission and emblematic of the inadequate attention to the needs of women, newborns, and children in the climate change discourse’.
Diene Keita, the Deputy Executive Director for Programmes at UNFPA, emphasised the need for climate solutions that uphold gender equality – ‘Global climate solutions must support – not sacrifice – gender equality’.
Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage, Life Course at the World Health Organisation, underscored the dire consequences faced by children and pregnant women.
“Climate change poses an existential threat to all of us, but pregnant women, babies, and children face some of the gravest consequences of all. Children’s futures need to be consciously protected, which means taking climate action now for the sake of their health and survival, while ensuring their unique needs are recognised in the climate response.”
