With Child Health Uniquely Threatened, Pediatricians Call for Climate Solutions

[polly7]

Published on Monday, October 26, 2015
by Common Dreams

Children and infants 'uniquely vulnerable' to the human-made crisis, warns the American Academy of Pediatrics

bySarah Lazare, staff writer

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"Every child need a safe and healthy environment and climate change is a rising public health threat to all children in this country and around the world," said American Academy of Pediatrics President Sandra G. Hassink, MD. (Photo: fruity monkey/flickr/cc)

A leading organization of American pediatricians declared Monday that children are "uniquely vulnerable" to the harmful impacts of human-made climate change—from natural disasters to food insecurity—and called for doctors to fulfill their duty by aggressively addressing the crisis.

"Children in the world's poorest countries, where the disease burden is already disproportionately high, are most affected by climate change," researchers found.

The AAP's findings are not the first of their kind. The World Health Organization stated in 2008 that over 88 percent of climate-related disease is borne by children under the age of five.

What's more, studies show that, within wealthy countries, the health impacts of climate change are disproportionately borne by low-income communities of color. For example, a University of Minnesota study published last year found that people of color in the United States suffer nearly 40 percent more exposure to toxic air pollution than their white counterparts.

Mounting evidence of the vulnerability of children and infants inspired parents and grandparents from around the world to launch a coalition this month to demand climate solutions for young people. These parents, and youth from around the world, are expected to converge at the COP21 meeting in Paris in November and December to demand aggressive action.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/26/child-health-uniquely-threatened-pediatricians-call-climate-solutions