Climate
change is complicating global efforts to end malnutrition, and even small
seasonal fluctuations make a difference says a new report.
According
to the Global Nutrition Report, being
released on September 22 in New York City, there are actions leaders of
every country should be taking to end malnutrition in all its forms.
Among the report’s key findings: One in three members of the global population is malnourished, and the problem exists in every country on the planet—yet the strategies available to resolve it are not being implemented due to lack of money, skills, or political pressure.
Another finding is that climate change affects nutrition
by influencing people’s food security, disease levels and patterns, water and
sanitation environments, and choices about how to allocate time to their
livelihoods and to caregiving.
Seasonal changes can have big impacts on food availability and disease patterns, and these in turn dramatically affect children’s survival and development.
Seasonal changes can have big impacts on food availability and disease patterns, and these in turn dramatically affect children’s survival and development.
This means, for example, that babies born in India in
November and December are taller on average at 3 years of age than those born
in April through September.
“We wanted to highlight that it isn’t just about how climate will have an impact on nutrition in 50 years time, but on the way climate impacts nutrition today,” said Madeleine Thomson, from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, part of Columbia University’s Earth Institute.
“We wanted to highlight that it isn’t just about how climate will have an impact on nutrition in 50 years time, but on the way climate impacts nutrition today,” said Madeleine Thomson, from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, part of Columbia University’s Earth Institute.
Thomson was the lead author of the report’s chapter on
the role of climate in global nutrition. “For the poorest
communities, seasonal fluctuations in food access and drivers of
infectious disease remain a reality and have a profound effect on
nutrition,” said Thomson. “This vulnerability to weather cycles and climate
phenomena such as El Niño is a stark indicator of the vulnerability of certain
populations to the weather extremes that climate change could unleash.”
“When one in three of us is held back, we as families, communities, and nations cannot move forward,” said Lawrence Haddad, lead author of the study and senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute. “This not only jeopardizes the lives of those who are malnourished, but also affects the larger framework for economic growth and sustainable development. Simply put: people cannot get anywhere near their full potential without first overcoming malnutrition.”
The International Research Institute for Climate and Society is a PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre on Early Warning Systems for Malaria and other Climate-Sensitive Diseases.
“When one in three of us is held back, we as families, communities, and nations cannot move forward,” said Lawrence Haddad, lead author of the study and senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute. “This not only jeopardizes the lives of those who are malnourished, but also affects the larger framework for economic growth and sustainable development. Simply put: people cannot get anywhere near their full potential without first overcoming malnutrition.”
The International Research Institute for Climate and Society is a PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre on Early Warning Systems for Malaria and other Climate-Sensitive Diseases.
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