Climate change, food insecurity, and the impacts on child health and nutrition in Brazil: proposal for a conceptual model

Abstract

Climate change has led to an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, forcing approximately 72 million people throughout the world to face limitations in terms of access to food in 2023. In Brazil, this scenario intensifies situations of chronic hunger, poverty, and social inequalities, increasing vulnerability particularly among young children. The aim of this paper is to propose a conceptual model that elucidates and explains these relationships. A literature review was conducted using the terms “climate change”, “food insecurity”, “child malnutrition”, and combinations of these terms, with the inclusion of the word “Brazil” in order to discuss the model in the Brazilian context. A conceptual model was proposed that addresses relationships among the main elements and three other mediating factors – the food system, water insecurity, and social inequalities, which are interrelated in five ways: (a) the direct impact of extreme weather events on access to food; (b) the impact of extreme weather events on access to food due to the effects on the food system; (c) water insecurity as an element that adds complexity to the relationship between extreme weather events and food insecurity; (d) social inequalities as determinants of the effect of climate change on households in situations of food insecurity, little access to water, and/or child malnutrition; and (e) child health and nutrition affected by all these factors. The connections addressed in this model can help guide future studies, favoring the development and implementation of collaborative, multisectoral, adaptational actions for the strengthening of resilience to climate change in Brazil.