Dr Sujeet Ranjan, Executive Director and Sahil Sharma, Food Technologist and public policy consultant, The Coalition for Food and Nutrition and Security (CFNS) share their views on how
effects of climate-related shocks can be passed from generation to generation, leaving a lasting impact on children’s ability to survive, grow and flourish
India has almost one-third of world’s stunted children and is facing a major malnutrition crisis as it holds almost a third of the world’s burden for stunting. At the same time, overweight and obesity are increasing rapidly, with no signs of slowing. The trend is clear: progress is too slow to meet the global targets and progress on malnutrition is not just too slow. A new analysis as per Global Nutrition Report 2020 shows that global and national patterns mask significant inequalities within countries and populations, with the most vulnerable groups being most affected. Nutrition outcomes also vary substantially across countries. Underweight is a persisting issue for the poorest countries and can be ten times higher than in wealthier countries. Overweight and obesity prevail in wealthier countries at rates of up to five times higher than in poorer countries.
The Global Nutrition Report 2020 says that our food systems are already stressed by increasing climate extremes. Containing the virus has caused food and nutrition shortages and driven governments to reduce social services, such as school nutrition programmes, that the most marginalised rely upon.
Children are the least accountable for climate change and yet are the most susceptible to its impact. Climate change is already having a devastating impact on our children. Due to the cumulative effect of climate change, the impact is projected to get worse. The effects of climate-related shocks can be passed from generation to generation, leaving a lasting impact on children’s ability to survive, grow and flourish. One of the most significant effects of climate change is the influence on the international food system as it reduces agricultural yields, changes rainfall patterns and affects food security.
Climate change exacerbates the multiple burdens of malnutrition because of its effects on food security, public hygiene, water supplies and quality, food safety, and maternal and child health care. The most vulnerable are, and will continue to be, the most affected, those who depend on natural resources, as well as women and children. Currently, severe acute malnourished children from migrant communities remain neglected. Families of severely malnourished children do not have adequate nutritional support and their situation is getting worse under existing weather conditions. Human health has always been impacted by climate and weather. Changes in climate and climate variability, particularly, modifications in weather extremes, have a bearing on the environment that offers us with clean air, food, water, shelter and security. Temperature change, collectively with other natural and human-made health stressors, threatens human fitness and wellness in numerous ways.
Humans are sensitive to an additional ordinary environmental and global climate change, which might result in a general deterioration of state of health and well-being. The current risk of health exhaustion will increase with an increase in climate temperature, exacerbating diseases and illness and reducing work capacity. Global climate change directly and indirectly contributes to the spread of diseases and premature mortality.
Producing healthy and nutritious food in a sustainable way to meet the needs of a growing population is one of the major challenges of our time. To achieve this, we must transition to diversified agroecological systems that allow for greater resilience to climate change and the sustainable management of natural resources. Maintaining biodiversity for food and agriculture is indispensable for adapting to climate change. At the same time, climate change, the overexploitation of natural resources and other change-inducing factors caused by human activities negatively impact biodiversity. Encouraging the conservation of genetic resources, especially on farms, is therefore, essential. We must also recognise the contribution of indigenous genetic resources, ensure their protection, and put into practice traditional knowledge.
Three main groups – physical, biological, and economic factors affect human well-being, health and skills to survive in any conditions, but temperature change will escalate intensity of impact. In addition, thanks to the temperature change; human biological and social adaptation to new condition is way more complex than in a very stable environment. Direct impact on humans appears from intense and frequent change in temperature and precipitation (heat and drought, storms and floods, natural fires, etc.) inducing functional and physiological disorders of an individual’s organism. Direct effects are linked to environmental and ecological change and its consequences caused by temperature change.
The nature and intensity of impact may vary, taking into consideration – climatic, regional, and geographic conditions. If global climate change continues as it is already forecasted, the human health risk is statistically likely affected from moderate to awfully high degree of confidence. It is adding more to woes like – injury, illness and death risks from intense heatwaves and natural fires, risk of food and water born illness, insufficient nutrition and water, geographical changes in food production.
Climate change effects on human health are often divided into primary (heat waves, cold waves, injury, flood, fires), secondary (infectious diseases, especially vector- borne, allergies, air pollution) and tertiary (famine, conflicts, population, displacement, refugees). Working on the barriers that limit access to a healthy and diversified diet thus involves not only considering the food system, but also the health, social protection, risk management, and agricultural extension systems. Strategies targeted at lowering climate change and its impacts showcase synergies with interventions aiming improved food and human health.