United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

UNICEF’s new Sustainability and Climate Change Action Plan (SCAP) 2023–2030 outlines UNICEF’s global commitment to protecting children’s health from climate change and environmental degradation, from before conception into adulthood. At the heart of this strategy is children’s environmental health, including built environments, such as the health-care facilities where children are born and receive essential services.

Through UNICEF’s health programmes in over 130 countries, UNICEF is supporting countries in building climate-resilient health systems and sustainable low-carbon health systems. This includes UNICEF’s focus on a (i) climate-resilient primary health care including community health platforms, (ii) climate resilience and/or environmental sustainability of health-care facilities, (iii) mainstreaming children’s environmental health, (iv) addressing the determinants of health through UNICEF’s nutrition, WASH and Social Protection programmes.

Supportive to climate mitigation and adaptation, the UNICEF-led Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative provides training and communication content to support country efforts from protecting children from heat stress to ensuring safe and green health care facilities: https://www.ceh.unicef.org/

Supporting the following commitments:

• Conduct climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments (V&As) at population level and/or health care facility level.
• Develop a health national adaptation plan (HNAP) informed by the health V&A, which forms part of the National Adaptation Plan.

Country experience:

In 2024, UNICEF has improved the climate resilience and/or environmental sustainability of health-care facilities in 67 countries. This aligned the Commitments 1 and 2.  In addition, UNICEF and partners are 24 countries in addressing environmental health risks in PHC by supporting the institutionalization of children’s environmental health. This includes trainings on climate change, heat stress and related hazards, and is aligned to Commitment 2.

Links:

Site in English: Unicef.org