Maternal and child health climate change adaptation: A qualitative document analysis of South Asian National Adaptation Plans

Driven by the existential threats of climate change to planetary health, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established a mandate for National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) to facilitate adaptation planning in low- and middle-income countries. However, the extent to which NAPs consider health risks, particularly those affecting maternal and child health in the adaptation planning process, remains unexplored. Employing the READ approach for document analysis, this study assesses the thoroughness with which these risks were considered during the development and implementation of NAPs in selected Asia-Pacific countries: Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste. The findings reveal health is consistently identified as a high-priority sector vulnerable to climate change. Cambodia, Nepal, and Timor-Leste prioritized maternal and child health issues. Consequently, these countries have outlined a broader gender-based approach in their NAP development and implementation processes, addressing some of the maternal and child health threats posed by climate change. The findings underscore the need for enhanced efforts to prioritize the reduction of maternal and child health risks associated with climate change through effective interventions in national adaptation planning. This need could be met through evidence generation based on the maternal and child health impacts of climate change in under-represented countries. Additionally, the future development and updating of NAPs should involve a more comprehensive and diverse representation of women from various cultural and geographic backgrounds to prioritize the protection of maternal and child health in the climate change policy discourse.