O report says that while several improvements in survival, nutrition and education have been made over the past 20 years, children face an “uncertain future” and “existential threats”.
“In 2015, the countries of the world agreed to the goals of sustainable development. However, about five years later, few countries have made progress, ”said the commission of 40 experts who were part of the investigation, cited by the British newspaper The Guardian.
Experts point to climate change, ecological degradation, migrant populations, conflicts, inequalities and aggressive business practices as threats to the health and future of younger generations in all countries.
The World Health Organization and Unicef - responsible for the report – are calling for urgent changes to be made in protecting child health and the climate emergency.
The investigation also highlights the threat of aggressive commercial practices that expose children to the marketing of fast food and sugary drinks, which caused an 11-fold increase in childhood obesity.
The report also includes an index of 180 countries where data on survival, well-being, health, education and nutrition are compared, as well as sustainability, greenhouse gas emissions and income differences.
“CO2 emissions threaten children’s future”
Also according to the report, global warming – caused mainly by the richest countries – represents a threat to health, from the spread of heat waves to the spread of tropical diseases.
The 40 experts believe that “the poorest countries need to do more to better support children’s ability to live healthily”, while the richest countries “are threatening the future of all children”.
Unicef chief health officer Stefan Peterson said children living in the poorest countries are facing the impact of climate change, although they have a small carbon footprint.
“These children face enormous challenges related to health and well-being and are now also at a greater disadvantage when it comes to the climate crisis. We need sustainable gains in child health and development, which means that large carbon emitters need to reduce their emissions if all children are to prosper, whether they are poor or rich ”.
According to the report, if global warming continues to increase, according to current projections, the consequences will be “devastating for children’s health”, due to rising sea levels, heat waves, the spread of disease and malnutrition.
“The only countries that are on track to meet the CO2 emission targets per capita by 2030 are Albania, Armenia, Jordan, Moldova, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uruguay and Vietnam,” says the report.
Childhood obesity increases 11-fold in 40 years
The report, released by the magazine The Lancet, explains that over 124 million children and adolescents worldwide were obese in 2016, which means that in the past four decades, obesity has increased 11-fold.
In 1975 there were 11 million children, worldwide, with obesity. In 2016 the number rose to 124 million.
One of the causes pointed out by the experts is the excessive exposure of children to advertisements and commercials about unhealthy food and sugary drinks, which leads children to make inappropriate food choices.
The report suggests that, in some countries, children see more than 30,000 television ads per year, related to what they call “child obesity marketing”.
“The industry’s self-regulation has failed,” said Anthony Costello, one of the document’s authors.
The authors point the finger at what they consider to be “exploitative practices” in the marketing of industries, which promotes fast food and sugary drinks.
“The reality can be even worse”
The exposure of minors to advertisements related to alcohol and tobacco consumption is another concern of the researchers.
The report states that children are at risk. “Youth exposure to e-cigarette ads has increased by more than 250 percent in the United States in two years, reaching more than 24 million young people”.
The commission that drafted the report asks governments to take action “to ensure that children are entitled to a habitable planet in the years to come”.
Costello said that there are still “few facts and figures about the expansion of advertising in average and algorithms aimed at children ”. If no changes are made, “the reality can be even worse”.
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