Air pollution will harm brain development, 9 of 10 people breathe polluted air

Annual loss in human capital arising from mental health conditions in children aged 0-19 is $387.2 billion

Simply Put: Free with your baby powder

Child marriage twice as prevalent in Nigeria’s rural areas than urban: Report

The overall rate of child marriage in the country has declined

Climate change will cause more African children to die from hot weather

There were between 12,000 and 19,000 heat-related child deaths per year in Africa from 2011 through 2020

Exams key anxiety source for Indian students: NCERT survey

Nearly half the students surveyed suffer from body image issues

Mid-day meal price hike less than Re 1 as food inflation hits record level

The annual rise of material price came after a pause of 2 years because of the pandemic

How is the Global Hunger Index ranking calculated?

India ranks 107 out of 121 countries in GHI 2022; Centre accuses it of misinformation   

Run-up to CoP27: Parents revive demand to cut fossil fuel financing, urge leaders to prioritise child health

Last year a delegation of mothers presented a letter signed by over a million parents to the CoP president

Poshan Vatika: How nutri-gardens in schools, houses can help ensure nutritional security of children

The people-driven scheme is backed by government's flagship nutrition programme POSHAN abhiyaan 

WHO advises immediate skin-to-skin care for premature babies instead of initial period in incubator

Most babies born at or after 28 weeks survive in high-income countries, but in poor countries, survival rates can be as low as 10%

Imminent threat: WHO warns 40 million children susceptible to measles as outbreak intensifies in India

There has been a ‘steady decline’ in measles vaccination coverage since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO says  

UK: Six children die of Strep A, a common bacterial infection

There is a chance the infection can get severe when the bacteria enters the bloodstream — a condition called invasive Group A Strep

2022 too short, too far: How food systems evolved for the hungry

Down To Earth recaps the primary environment, health and developmental news from 2022

Remembering 2022: What it meant for India’s children  

As the year comes to a close and we gear up to welcome 2023, here’s revisiting some of the major events this year that significantly …

In 2021, 2.8 million children in sub-Saharan Africa died before reaching their fifth birthday: UN report  

Region accounted for over half of all under-five deaths in 2021, says report  

5 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2021, 1.9 million stillborn: UN reports

A death of child or youth every 4.4 seconds; many could have been prevented with equitable access to high-quality healthcare

‘Over 22 million in Ethiopia facing severe food crisis’

Back-to-back droughts causing food emergency, children at high risk of death from malnutrition, says non-profit

Neonatal mortality rate in Kenya shows no significant change in 8 years: Survey

Childhood and under-5 mortality rates, however, declined during the period, study finds

As told to Parliament (February 10, 2023): Smriti Irani says her ministry ‘unaware’ of CSE report on malnutrition deaths

The report by Centre for Science & Environment and DTE shows over 1.7 million Indians die every year due to poor diet

Marketing of formula milk preventing breastfeeding of infants

3-part Lancet paper finds exploitative market thrives despite WHO recommendations, violating World Health Assembly code 

Laws alone won’t end female genital mutilation in India: Mariya Taher

 Down To Earth speaks to Mariya Taher, the co-founder and United States executive director of non-profit Sahiyo on Female Genital …

Fine air particles linked with high blood pressure among teen Londoners: Study

The association was found to be stronger in girls

Paediatric beds fill up in West Bengal as adenovirus spreads, 3 deaths recorded

Doctors have seen an at least 50 per cent increase in cases this year compared to usual

Cough syrup can harm children: Experts warn of contamination risks

Toxicologists Winston Morgan and Shazma Bashir unpack the dangers of glycol poisoning 

Globally, just 1 in 4 children covered by social protection: UN report

One billion children live in multidimensional poverty without access to education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation or water