Auckland University child health researchers are calling for action by health professionals over the risks they say climate change poses to the wellbeing of children.
They will shortly publish in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health a report on the climate change implications for child health in Australasia.
Climate change was the greatest health threat of the century, but responses could be tailored to help produce healthier people in a more equal society and more sustainable economy, the researchers said.
“Much can and should be done to avoid the worst effects,” they said.
One researcher, public health specialist Dr Jamie Hosking, said that children were “especially vulnerable” to climate change.
There was likely to be an increase in extreme weather events, such as more intense storms, floods, and droughts, and children who were smaller and less strong than adults would face higher risks from extremes of heat and flooding.
Maori and Pacific children living in poorer conditions were especially at risk, but all children faced threats to basic survival needs, such as the availability of safe and sufficient water, healthy and sufficient food, and adequate shelter in storms, floods and droughts.
Constraints on energy supplies were likely to raise energy prices, leading to more families living in “fuel poverty”, he said.
“Interruptions to food supplies are likely to raise food prices, increasing food insecurity in some families.”
Children were more likely than adults to live in low-income households, so were more vulnerable to fuel poverty and food insecurity.
But there could be a silver lining if strong policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions spread costs and benefits equitably across society.
Government programmes to insulate older houses could be improved to ensure the homes of the poorest children were both energy efficient and healthy – reducing childhood asthma and chest infections which were leading causes of hospital admissions, particularly for Maori and Pacific children.
Social inequalities in health outcomes, such as those suffered by Maori and Pacific children, could also be reduced by the right climate policies.
A low-carbon transport system that made it easy and safe to walk, cycle and use public transport, could improve child health through reduced air pollution, asthma, and child lung problems, with more physical activity helping to reduce obesity rates.
The health benefits of these strategies could help New Zealanders directly, and were relatively immediate.
Different risks were faced by high-income countries such as Australia and New Zealand, compared with low-income Pacific island nations. In poorer nations, clean-burning cooking stoves might be of more relevance than improved insulation.
The paper did not detail the risks of a warmer climate enabling the establishment of exotic mosquitoes enabling the spread of diseases such as dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis or Ross River virus, but said important communicable diseases may become more common.
Hosking said some children in southern regions may benefit from warmer winters, through less exposure to cold, but overall the long-term effects of climate change were predicted to be negative.
Source – http://tvnz.co.nz/health-news/climate-action-could-boost-children-s-health-3455917
