Researchers from the ICEH took part on June 26th in the Children and Climate Initiative Summer Meeting, where they presented the group's latest research progress. The ICEH team — represented at the event by Aluisio J. D. Barros, Leonardo Zanini Ferreira, and Gabriela Marques — is part of the initiative’s Global Health & Data Science expert group, bringing an epidemiological perspective to the investigation of the effects of climate change on children’s health. Led by the University of Oxford, the project brings together leading experts and institutions in the fields of climate, global health, data science, human rights, and community engagement. Below, Gabriela outlines the main topics of the ongoing study.

What was the main goal of this in-person meeting?

Gabriela: The meeting brought together the initiative’s different work streams, ranging from the teams responsible for data analysis and evidence generation to partners engaged in advocacy and early childhood policy implementation, such as UNICEF, ARNEC, and AfCN.

The focus was on sharing progress, identifying opportunities for collaboration, and aligning strategies across the initiative’s partners. At ICEH, we contribute with data analysis and the generation of scientific evidence. The meeting reinforced that, although each institution plays a specific role, all of them work toward the same goal: generating evidence to guide public policies and actions to protect children from climate change.

What is ICEH's main methodological contribution to the project??

Gabriela: Bringing the epidemiological perspective to a highly interdisciplinary field that gathers contributions from areas like meteorology, geography, and agronomy. We employ a conceptual framework to guide variable selection, data analysis, and the interpretation of results, thereby strengthening the robustness of the evidence produced.

What data are being analyzed in this first phase?

Gabriela: We compiled data from 37 countries, covering nearly 400,000 children in recent surveys (from 2015 onwards). Our first step was to investigate the association between short-term exposure to high temperatures and the weight-for-height z-score (WHZ), in order to measure the immediate effect of extreme heat on the nutritional status of children under five.

What have the preliminary results shown about the impact of heat?

Gabriela: ngoing analyses aim to understand whether this association varies according to individual and contextual characteristics, such as the child's age and socioeconomic conditions. These results will be presented in detail upon the study's conclusion.

Finally, what are the next steps for the research?

Gabriela: Once the analyses on child nutritional status are consolidated, we will expand the investigation to other outcomes related to children’s health and development, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the impacts of climate change on childhood.