The world is failing to protect the health of its children, according to a major report published today.
The report by the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and The Lancet warns that children are under immediate threat from both climate change and exploitative marketing.
The report, A Future for the World’s Children?, is released today (19 February) by a commission of over 40 child and adolescent health experts from around the world.
It calls for a “radical rethink on child health” as climate and commercial threats intensify, and states that no country is “adequately protecting children’s health, their environment and their futures”.
It covers 180 countries, looking at measures of child survival and wellbeing, such as health, education, and nutrition; sustainability, with a proxy for greenhouse gas emissions, and equity, or income gaps.
It finds that excessive carbon emissions threaten the future of all children, via rising ocean levels, heatwaves, proliferation of diseases like malaria and dengue, and malnutrition.
Co-chair of the commission, Helen Clark, says: “Despite improvements in child and adolescent health over the past 20 years, progress has stalled, and is set to reverse.
“It has been estimated that around 250 million children under five years old in low- and middle-income countries are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential, based on proxy measures of stunting and poverty. But of even greater concern, every child worldwide now faces existential threats from climate change and commercial pressures.“
Dr Richard Horton of The Lancet adds: “The opportunity is great. The evidence is available. The tools are at hand. From heads-of-state to local government, from UN leaders to children themselves, this commission calls for the birth of a new era for child and adolescent health.
”It will take courage and commitment to deliver. It is the supreme test of our generation.”
Clark, H. et al. A future for the world’s children? A WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission. The Lancet 19 February 2020 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)32540-1
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)32540-1/fulltext
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