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REVIEW

Public Health Rev
Volume 45 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/phrs.2024.1607553
This article is part of the Special Issue MITIGATING AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE: EVIDENCE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH View all 10 articles

Integrating Maternal and Child Health into Climate Change: A Holistic Approach

Felix Amekpor Felix Amekpor 1*Waheed Sakariyau Waheed Sakariyau 2*Nathan Ezie Kengo Nathan Ezie Kengo 3Sandra .Nwodo Amarachukwu Sandra .Nwodo Amarachukwu 4*Joseph Agyapong Joseph Agyapong 5Zakariya’u Dauda Zakariya’u Dauda 6Samuel Kwarteng Samuel Kwarteng 7David Adeoye Adedokun David Adeoye Adedokun 8*Gideon Darko Gideon Darko 9
  • 1 Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
  • 2 College of health and Natural Science, The University of Tulsa. USA, Tulsa, United States
  • 3 Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Garoua, Garoua, Cameroon
  • 4 University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria
  • 5 Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
  • 6 Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Sokoto, Nigeria
  • 7 Department of molecular medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology., Kumasi, Ghana
  • 8 West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
  • 9 Faculty of Agriculture, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In everyday language, climate change refers to the ongoing increase in the Earth's average temperature and its repercussions on the planet's climate system. Climate change negatively affects life support systems, including air, food, water, shelter, and security, on which humans depend. Acute food insecurity, reduced water security, heat stress, extreme weather events, and air pollution are some negative impacts of climate change in regions with considerable development constraints, with women and children disproportionately affected. The World Health Organization estimates that climate change could cause 250,000 deaths annually between 2030 and 2050, with maternal and childbearing a disproportionate burden. Integrating maternal and child health initiatives with climate change mitigation strategies can yield synergistic benefits. However, despite the controlled physiological and psychological changes experienced by pregnant mothers and the developing fetus, there is limited research on how to adapt to and reduce the effects of climate change on pregnancy outcomes. Addressing maternal and child health requires integrating health-focused strategies into environmental policies to reduce vulnerabilities to climate-related risks.

    Keywords: heat, Malnutrition, Forced Migration, Infectious Diseases, mental health problems

    Received: 24 May 2024; Accepted: 04 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Amekpor, Sakariyau, Kengo, Amarachukwu, Agyapong, Dauda, Kwarteng, Adedokun and Darko. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Felix Amekpor, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
    Waheed Sakariyau, College of health and Natural Science, The University of Tulsa. USA, Tulsa, United States
    Sandra .Nwodo Amarachukwu, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nsukka, 410101, Enugu, Nigeria
    David Adeoye Adedokun, West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.