The Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI) are pleased to welcome Anna Dimitrova, postdoctoral researcher at ISGlobal, Barcelona, for a guest lecture on “Climate Shocks, Child Nutrition, and the Role of Social Policy in Building Resilience.” The lecture will take place on Monday 9th March at 16:15 in the Lecture Theatre at Nuffield College.
This event is co-organised by the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, Jasmin Abdel Ghany (Nuffield College), and Will Rudgard (Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy and Intervention).
Countries in sub-Saharan Africa continue to face persistent challenges in addressing child malnutrition, with approximately one-third of children under the age of five experiencing chronic undernourishment. Climate-related disasters pose an additional and growing threat to child nutrition by disrupting agricultural production, household income, and access to essential services. These disruptions have important implications for child health and long-term human capital development in low- and middle-income countries.
In this seminar, Dr Dimitrova will present findings from two complementary studies examining the impacts of climate shocks on child nutrition and the extent to which social policies can mitigate these effects. The first investigates whether participation in Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme—a government-run cash or food transfer programme—can buffer the adverse nutritional impacts of drought exposure. The second evaluates whether maternal access to free primary education reduces children’s vulnerability to disaster-related undernutrition across multiple sub-Saharan African countries.
Together, the findings provide evidence that social policies can play a critical role in protecting children from the nutritional consequences of climate shocks. Immediate income and food support mechanisms, as well as longer-term investments in human capital, may enhance household adaptive capacity and strengthen resilience. The research highlights the importance of integrating social policies into climate adaptation strategies to safeguard public health.
Anna Dimitrova is a postdoctoral researcher at ISGlobal in Barcelona with an interdisciplinary background in public health, economics, and demography. Her research focuses on the impacts of climate change on human health and well-being, particularly among vulnerable populations in low-resource and humanitarian settings. A central aim of her work is to advance understanding of the social and structural determinants of vulnerability to climate-related risks and to identify policies and interventions that enhance adaptive capacity. Prior to joining ISGlobal, she contributed to climate and health research projects at the University of California, San Diego.
This seminar is open to university members and will be of interest to those working on climate and environmental impacts, infant and child health, food security and nutrition, social policies and interventions, cash transfers and educational expansion.
