Climate Change, Diarrhoea, and Child Health: A Growing Crisis in South Asia

A Detailed Blog for UPSC Aspirants | GS II (Health), GS III (Environment) | With Previous Year Questions

---

🗞️ Context: What’s Happening?

A study published in Environmental Research (2025) by researchers from Flinders University, Australia shows that climate change is intensifying the risk of diarrhoeal diseases, particularly among children under five in countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

In India alone, about 8% of children under age five suffer from diarrhoea — a condition that remains one of the leading causes of child mortality.

---

🌡️ How Is Climate Change Linked to Diarrhoea?

According to the study:

• Annual temperature range between 30–40°C is linked to a 39% rise in diarrhoea risk.

• Reduced rainfall in the wettest month (less than 600 mm) increases the risk by 30%.

• Drought frequency is rising, making waterborne infections more common.

---

👩‍👧 Social Factors Increasing Risk

• Mothers with <8 years of education: Their children had an 18% higher diarrhoea risk.

• Households with 6+ members: 9% higher risk.

• Unsafe water & poor sanitation: Linked to 88% of diarrhoea-related deaths.

Improving maternal education and WASH infrastructure (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) are seen as effective interventions.

---

🧠 UPSC Relevance

This topic cuts across multiple GS Papers and themes:

---

🔍 GS Paper II – Health, Education & Governance

• Public health systems

• Role of women’s education in child survival

• National Health Policy, ICDS, POSHAN, and Swachh Bharat Mission

---

🔍 GS Paper III – Environment & Climate Change

• Impact of global warming on vulnerable groups

• Climate adaptation strategies in public health

• India’s role in SDG 3 (Good Health) & SDG 6 (Clean Water)

---

📚 Previous Year UPSC Questions (with topic relevance)

---

1. GS Paper II – 2022
Q: "Public health system in India suffers from many challenges. Examine the role of community participation in strengthening health services."
🔁 Connect maternal education, sanitation, and child health awareness as community-level tools.

---

2. GS Paper III – 2021
Q: “Explain the mechanism and impact of climate change on the frequency of natural disasters.”
🔁 Use rising temperature and rainfall variability leading to droughts, which in turn cause diarrhoea outbreaks.

---

3. GS Paper II – 2016
Q: “Examine the role of education and health in human development.”
🔁 Mention how maternal education directly improves child healthcare responses.

---

4. Essay Paper – 2020
Q: “Neglect of primary healthcare and education in India are reasons for its backwardness.”
🔁 Include diarrhoea as a preventable disease still causing deaths due to poor education and sanitation.

---

🛠️ What Can Be Done: Policy Suggestions

1. ✅ WASH Programs: Expand Swachh Bharat, Jal Jeevan Mission to ensure safe water and sanitation.

2. ✅ Maternal Education: Strengthen female literacy schemes (e.g., Beti Bachao Beti Padhao) to boost maternal decision-making in healthcare.

3. ✅ Rotavirus Vaccination: Increase vaccine coverage under Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).

4. ✅ Climate-Integrated Health Planning: Develop predictive models linking climate data with disease outbreaks.

5. ✅ Urban Slum Interventions: High population density + poor water = high risk areas. Target these in health campaigns.

---

📌 Conclusion

Climate change is not just about polar bears and melting glaciers — it's a public health emergency, especially for children in vulnerable countries like India.

If India is to safeguard its future generations, it must treat maternal education, water access, and public sanitation as climate-resilient health strategies.

---

💬 “Diarrhoea is not only a water issue, it is a women’s empowerment issue, a governance issue, and now, a climate issue.”