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New research co-authored by Jorden Jackson shows that armed conflict and extreme heat can compound one another’s effects on child health across sub-Saharan Africa.
Published in Population and Development Review, the study analyzes data on more than 188,000 children across 32 countries, combining demographic surveys with georeferenced records of conflict events and climate conditions.
The researchers find that both armed conflict and high temperatures independently reduce children’s weight-for-height scores — a key indicator of acute malnutrition. But the effects are especially severe when conflict occurs during periods of unusually high heat.
The study also identifies important inequalities in vulnerability. Girls, children of less-educated mothers, and children living in urban areas appeared especially affected by the combined pressures of conflict and heat stress.
Jorden Jackson said: “Our findings show that climate and conflict cannot be treated as separate risks. Children living through violence are especially vulnerable when those experiences are compounded by extreme heat, and these overlapping pressures are likely to become more common as climate change intensifies.”
The authors argue that understanding these overlapping risks is increasingly important for humanitarian and public health planning, particularly in regions already facing both political instability and rapid climate change.
Read the paper: “Conflict, Climate, and Child Health: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa” in Population and Development Review. (link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/padr.70067?af=R )
