The impact of climate change on maternal and child health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa: A five-year (2020–2024) scoping review

Abstract

Introduction In sub-Saharan Africa, climate change presents considerable threats to the health and well-being of women of reproductive age and children under 5 years. Some documented impacts include pregnancy complications, irregular breastfeeding, malnutrition, stunting, wasting, and diminished access to healthcare. While significant scholarly efforts have explored these outcomes, regional understanding of impacts remains vague. Methods A systematic search of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted across four databases and search engines: Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus. Inclusion criteria required documents to be focused on sub-Saharan Africa, address the intersection of climate change and health, and report specific health outcomes. Selected studies were thematically analysed to identify and synthesise evidence-based mitigation strategies. Results 51 documents met the inclusion criteria. Climatic impacts including excessive or low rainfall, flooding, temperature fluctuations, heat waves, droughts, and tropical cyclones were found to be associated with various health outcomes. Among mothers, these included miscarriage, postpartum haemorrhage, and hypertensive disorders, while in children, impacts were linked to preterm birth, stillbirth, neonatal mortality, low birth weight, and malnutrition. Furthermore, climate change was found to impact access to healthcare across both populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Conclusion Our findings underscore the need for regional integration in the planning and implementation of interventions to mitigate climate change impacts on maternal and child health. While acknowledging context-specific health outcomes due to differences in climate zones, this review offers a roadmap for prioritizing vulnerable populations in public health policy design and decision-making processes.