Researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia have contributed to a landmark study revealing climate change will have a detrimental impact on one of the greatest threats to the health of children in the Global South – diarrhoea.
Professor Peter Le Souef and Dr Melinda Judge played an integral role in the study led by Dr Hira Fatima, formerly of Flinders University, Impact of climate change on diarrhoea risk in low- and middle-income countries, which was recently published in the scientific journal Environmental Research.
It is one of the first studies to explore how long-term climate, socio-economic, and maternal and child health factors intersect to affect the risk of acquiring diarrhoea.
It reveals that rising temperatures and unusually drier rainy seasons – both hallmarks of climate change – are expected to increase the risk of diarrhoeal diseases across South and Southeast Asia, posing serious health threats to millions of children.
Although preventable and treatable, diarrhoeal diseases claim the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in low- and middle-income countries every year.
The study, a collaborative effort between researchers from Flinders University, The Kids Research Institute Australia, and the University of Western Australia, analysed observations of more than 3 million children across eight Asian countries. It identified temperature extremes and declining rainfall as the two main climate-associated drivers of higher risk of children getting diarrhoea.
Dr Fatima said the results made it clear that maternal education on good hygiene practices, the importance of breastfeeding, and recognising the symptoms of diarrhoea were the most effective ways to reduce instances of diarrhoea in children in South and Southeast Asia.
“Children of mothers with fewer than eight years of schooling faced an 18 per cent higher risk of diarrhoea,” Dr Fatima said.
“This makes investing in maternal education one of the most powerful and scalable climate-adaptation strategies — not only to improve child health, but also to address broader challenges like overcrowding and poor hygiene. Education empowers mothers to act early when their children fall ill, which can save lives.
“Education is not only a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, it’s also a powerful tool for climate adaptation that must be central to climate-health policies, particularly in densely populated, high-risk regions of the world.
Co-author, Professor Corey Bradshaw, from Global Ecology at Flinders University, said modelling showed that temperature swings of 30 to 40°C increased diarrhoea risk by 39 per cent, while drier rainy seasons raised the risk by 29 per cent.
“Our modelling emphasises that we need to develop and implement climate-related health policies that protect children under five years old from this increasing health risk,” Professor Bradshaw said.
“Around 88% of diarrhoeal deaths are linked to unsafe drinking water and related causes. Improved access to drinking water can reduce the risk of diarrhoea by 52%, while better sanitation facilities can lower the risk by 24%. We know that poverty increases the risk of diarrhoea by limiting access to nutritious food, clean water, and healthcare, while also fostering environments where diarrhoeal pathogens thrive.
“With our recent research showing that droughts in East Asia will intensify based on 150,000 years of monsoon records, this new study now warns that the intensified impacts of climate change will lead to increased child diarrhoea, and all the associated health impacts, in Asia.”
According to the researchers, Government-led maternal education programs, investing in safe water systems and addressing overcrowding through improved housing and infrastructure policies was the best was to combat the increasing impacts of climate change regarding this deadly issue.