Young Lives is one of the longest-running longitudinal cohort studies of poverty and inequality ever conducted in the Global South, following the lives of 12,000 young people, from infancy to adulthood, in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam since 2002.
Partnering locally and internationally, the study’s mission is to deliver policy-relevant research to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and young people, especially in times of crises.
Many of the young people experienced significant improvements in their living standards as poverty rates fell over the first two decades of the Young Lives study. However, recent global crises, including climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and armed conflict in Ethiopia, threaten to increase inequalities and reverse this progress.
Droughts, floods and rising food prices are leading to alarming levels of food insecurity and malnutrition. In our latest survey, 23% of young people in Ethiopia were underweight; in Peru, 41% were overweight or obese, while in India there is a double burden of malnutrition with 24% underweight and 21% overweight or obese.
Evidence from Young Lives shows that early life exposure to climate shocks, such as droughts and floods, has a profound impact on children’s development, affecting their nutritional health, physical growth, skills, and learning.
Children from the poorest households are the most affected, resulting in long-term consequences for their education and employment.
Gender inequalities are reinforced and exacerbated in times of crises, with women and girls undertaking extra unpaid care work, such as additional childcare during school closures and more time collecting firewood and clean water.
Interrupted education and more unpaid care work during climate shocks may reduce women and girls’ time to study, increasing their risk of school drop-out and affecting future economic prospects.
Young Lives evidence shows that the impact of climate shocks on pregnant women’s nutrition has repercussions for their children’s skills development, even into adolescence.
In India, children whose mothers were exposed to droughts, flooding, or cyclones during pregnancy had lower vocabulary skills by age 5, with longer-term effects on basic maths and social and emotional skills up to the age of 15.
Analysis across all four Young Lives study countries shows that rainfall shocks and malnutrition experienced by adolescent girls before they become pregnant can have a negative impact on their future children’s height.
Mental health issues are often driven by a range of factors, with poverty and inequality playing a particularly significant role. Young Lives research shows that COVID-19, climate shocks, and conflict crises are exacerbating this further.
For example, the 2021 drought in Ethiopia significantly increased anxiety and depression among young people, particularly those growing up in the poorest households.
Young Lives evidence in Ethiopia and Peru shows that social protection, such as cash transfers or food aid, can have huge benefits for disadvantaged children, improving their nutritional health, physical growth, skills, and learning, in the face of climate shocks.
Prioritising safety nets for adolescent girls and young women, especially pregnant women and young mothers, is critical not only to safeguard their own health and well-being but also for their future children’s long-term development.
Young Lives has launched a new Hub on Climate Change and Environmental Shocks to investigate the long-term and intergenerational effects of the climate crisis on vulnerable communities in the Global South. The Hub's mission is to support governments and the international community in developing targeted climate adaptation and resilience policies that improve lives and advance the Sustainable Development Goals.
Young Lives is one of the longest-running longitudinal cohort studies of poverty and inequality ever conducted in the Global South, following the lives of 12,000 young people, from infancy to adulthood, in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam since 2002.
Partnering locally and internationally, the study’s mission is to deliver policy-relevant research to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and young people, especially in times of crises.
Many of the young people experienced significant improvements in their living standards as poverty rates fell over the first two decades of the Young Lives study. However, recent global crises, including climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and armed conflict in Ethiopia, threaten to increase inequalities and reverse this progress.
Droughts, floods and rising food prices are leading to alarming levels of food insecurity and malnutrition. In our latest survey, 23% of young people in Ethiopia were underweight; in Peru, 41% were overweight or obese, while in India there is a double burden of malnutrition with 24% underweight and 21% overweight or obese.
Evidence from Young Lives shows that early life exposure to climate shocks, such as droughts and floods, has a profound impact on children’s development, affecting their nutritional health, physical growth, skills, and learning.
Children from the poorest households are the most affected, resulting in long-term consequences for their education and employment.
Gender inequalities are reinforced and exacerbated in times of crises, with women and girls undertaking extra unpaid care work, such as additional childcare during school closures and more time collecting firewood and clean water.
Interrupted education and more unpaid care work during climate shocks may reduce women and girls’ time to study, increasing their risk of school drop-out and affecting future economic prospects.
Young Lives evidence shows that the impact of climate shocks on pregnant women’s nutrition has repercussions for their children’s skills development, even into adolescence.
In India, children whose mothers were exposed to droughts, flooding, or cyclones during pregnancy had lower vocabulary skills by age 5, with longer-term effects on basic maths and social and emotional skills up to the age of 15.
Analysis across all four Young Lives study countries shows that rainfall shocks and malnutrition experienced by adolescent girls before they become pregnant can have a negative impact on their future children’s height.
Mental health issues are often driven by a range of factors, with poverty and inequality playing a particularly significant role. Young Lives research shows that COVID-19, climate shocks, and conflict crises are exacerbating this further.
For example, the 2021 drought in Ethiopia significantly increased anxiety and depression among young people, particularly those growing up in the poorest households.
Young Lives evidence in Ethiopia and Peru shows that social protection, such as cash transfers or food aid, can have huge benefits for disadvantaged children, improving their nutritional health, physical growth, skills, and learning, in the face of climate shocks.
Prioritising safety nets for adolescent girls and young women, especially pregnant women and young mothers, is critical not only to safeguard their own health and well-being but also for their future children’s long-term development.
Young Lives has launched a new Hub on Climate Change and Environmental Shocks to investigate the long-term and intergenerational effects of the climate crisis on vulnerable communities in the Global South. The Hub's mission is to support governments and the international community in developing targeted climate adaptation and resilience policies that improve lives and advance the Sustainable Development Goals.