Children’s Environmental Health Indicators for Pacific Island Countries

Abstract

Healthy environments support the wellbeing of children and the environment thus play a cardinal role in the future of Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Children are more vulnerable and at risk to environmental hazards than adults because they breathe, drink, and eat much more relative to body weight, resulting in greater exposures in the different environments in which children find themselves every day. We examine the role that children’s environmental health indicators (CEHI) can play for PICs to highlight priorities and we prioritise actions to improve children’s environmental health and thus achieve their ‘Healthy Islands’ vision. We conducted a systematic search of relevant documented and publicly available Pacific Island Country information on children’s environmental health indicators using the general Internet, as well as databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, relevant UN agencies, as well as regional databases. Information on CEHI was available—mainly in grey literature—but not specifically aimed at PICs. Likewise, similar observations were made for peer-reviewed literature. From this review, we compiled summaries and a framework to propose the requirements as well as provide a foundation for the development of CEHI for PICs. CEHI development for PICs should ideally be a multi-sectoral endeavour within each PIC as well as for the region. This can be achieved through public, private, and academic sector initiatives to draw in all sectors of government as well as the relevant UN agencies and regional PIC-representative organisations.

Promoção de estilos de vida saudáveis na primeira infância: A voz de familiares e peritos

“…Os pais e os educadores revelam conhecimento limitado sobre o impacto da alimentação na saúde e desenvolvimento das crianças (Brereton et al, 2018), pelo que poderá ser promissor incluir estes protagonistas na promoção de estilos de vida saudáveis (Aranceta-Bartrina & Pérez-Rodrigo, 2016). As consequências de hábitos alimentares pouco saudáveis são variadas (Brereton et al, 2018), podendo conduzir ao desenvolvimento de doenças como a obesidade, hipertensão ou patologia cardiovascular (Aranceta-Bartrina & Pérez-Rodrigo, 2016). Quanto ao sono, os participantes consideraram que as crianças não dormem o número de horas suficiente, relacionado, em grande parte, com o uso excessivo de ecrãs.…”

“…A adoção de hábitos de saúde na infância tende a manter-se pela vida adulta (Georgiadis & Penny, 2017). A implementação de estratégias políticas e programas de promoção da saúde nos primeiros anos de vida é, nesta perspetiva, considerada fundamental, com ganhos em saúde e implicações que se prolongam a longo prazo e além do seu término (Brereton et al, 2018;Georgiadis & Penny, 2017). Os determinantes de saúde podem potenciar (ou comprometer) a saúde da criança, num período onde as raízes da saúde e do desenvolvimento estão a ser estabelecidos.…”

“…Assim, a vigilância da saúde da criança integra não só a deteção precoce de doenças, mas também os determinantes de saúde (ex., ambiente, social, económico), o fortalecimento e o apoio à parentalidade, salvaguardando o bem-estar global da criança (Yakuwa et al, 2018). A promoção da saúde na infância prevê o conhecimento do quotidiano e do ambiente que envolvem a criança, para acompanhar e intervir, de forma sensível e integrada, potenciando o crescimento e desenvolvimento infantil (Brereton et al, 2018). Estudos anteriores evidenciaram que a promoção da alimentação saudável tem resultados positivos no aumento do consumo de alimentos nutricionalmente interessantes em crianças (Hodder et al, 2018), a diminuição do comportamento sedentário e aumento da atividade física tem sido associado a melhor qualidade de vida e saúde cardiovascular (Wu et al, 2019).…”

Surviving versus thriving: The wellbeing of primary school aged children in Tonga

“…However, alongside there are a number of challenges, including poverty, climate change, persistent inequities and prevalent communicable and non-communicable diseases. 8 These factors are obstacles to wellbeing for children living in Pacific Island nations.…”

Assessing Ecological Vulnerability under Climate Change and Anthropogenic Influence in the Yangtze River Estuarine Island-Chongming Island, China

“…As important transition zones between land, freshwater habitats, and the sea, estuaries islands provide many essential ecosystem services [ 1 , 2 ] including coastal blue carbon storage [ 3 ], flood protection [ 4 ], nutrient cycling, fishery resources [ 1 ], and habitats for wildlife [ 5 ] as well as offer valuable cultural ecosystem services (e.g., recreation services to citizens for maintaining their mental and physical health) [ 6 , 7 ]. However, with climate change and intensive anthropogenic activities, estuarine islands have been influenced by global sea level rise, ecological structure, and land cover change [ 8 , 9 ], resulting in increasing risks of passive climax submergence, beach soil erosion, biological invasion, and saltwater intrusion [ 10 , 11 ].…”