Remarkable progress has been made in the health and well-being of children and young people since 1990. But profound inequality means that little has changed for many in the world’s poorest regions. Children around the world also face unprecedented dangers from climate disruption and unregulated commercial actors.
These are the findings of a report recently published by a WHO-UNICEF-Lancet commission on redefining and accelerating progress on child health and well-being. The commission is made up of child health, climate change and health systems researchers and advisors from universities, nongovernmental organisations, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation.
The commission developed a new “flourishing index” which assessed children’s health, education, growth and experiences of violence. It also created a sustainability index which ranked countries based on their excess greenhouse gas emissions. Strikingly, no country did well on sustainability, flourishing and the absence of inequity. All three are essential for securing the future of children and young people. Read more…
