Climate change and child malnutrition: A Nigerian perspective

Eduard van der Merwe, Matthew Clance and Eleni Yitbarek

Food Policy, 2022, vol. 113, issue C

Abstract: Erratic temperatures and precipitation influence nutrition, human capital investment, and living standards, particularly for children. This study investigates the effect of climate change (changes in the monthly maximum average near-surface temperature and total monthly precipitation) on children’s health outcomes, particularly stunting and underweight, in Nigeria. We combine Living Standards Measurement Study - Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) data with high resolution gridded climate data. We find that the rise in temperature is associated with higher levels of stunting – even more so in rural areas. The paper’s findings highlight the need for climate-friendly policies to mitigate the long-term effect of climate change on malnourishment. Without such policies, climate change could reverse years of progress in lowering children’s malnutrition.

Keywords: Climate change; Malnutrition; Stunting; Underweight; Spatial analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I15 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:113:y:2022:i:c:s0306919222000604

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2022.102281

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