FIGO endorses joint call to action for urgent protection of maternal, newborn and child health from climate change

On 21 November 2023, World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and UNFPA launched a joint call to action on the impacts of climate change on maternal, newborn and child health. FIGO fully endorses this initiative and calls for urgent and concerted efforts to protect the most vulnerable members of our global community from the far-reaching impacts of climate change. 

The joint document, Protecting Maternal, Newborn and Child Health from the Impacts of Climate Change, underscores the concerning association between climate hazards, such as extreme heat, and increased risks of complications leading to adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. These complications include gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, preterm birth, low birth weight and stillbirth. The repercussions extend beyond physical health, affecting mental well-being and contributing to intergenerational trauma.

The call to action highlights the consistent neglect, underreporting, and underestimation of the effects of climate events on maternal and child health globally. It points out the glaring omission of maternal and child health considerations in many countries' climate change response plans, indicating insufficient attention to the specific needs of women, newborns, and children in the climate change discourse.

Climate change poses an existential threat to all of us, but pregnant women, babies, and children face some of the gravest consequences of all.

Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director General for Universal Health Coverage, Life Course at WHO

The joint call to action outlines seven urgent measures to address escalating risks, including sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, climate finance actions, and specific inclusion of the needs of pregnant women, babies, and children in climate and disaster-related policies.