A/78/167 health, including with regard to their physical growth and cognitive skill s. 33 These impacts affect all children, but it is the very poorest households that are the least resilient to hardships when climate shocks hit. Albinism, and disability more generally, is a significant risk factor for poverty, 34 and having a child with albinism is likely to push caregivers – in particular, mothers – into poverty. 35 In some countries, over four fifths of mothers of children with albinism are thought to be impoverished. 36 As such, children with albinism and their households are among the most vu lnerable to the climate-related shocks precipitated by extreme weather events. C. Other health impacts 37. Global health is threatened by a lack of clean air, water and food scarcity, heat stress, and infectious diseases caused by changing weather and climate patterns. 37 These changes are not only happening suddenly, as in the case of extreme weather events, but are also occurring gradually through impacts such as recurrent droughts, crop failures and rising average temperatures, slowly erod ing the health and wellbeing of populations worldwide. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress. 38 38. Children born to mothers who have experienced droughts or disasters while pregnant have been shown to possess poorer cognitive and non -cognitive skills into adolescence. 39 Among the general population, there is even evidence that the health of children can be affected by climate-related impacts before they have been born or even conceived. Malnutrition experienced by adolescent girls as a result of rainfall shocks 40 before they become pregnant has been found to lead to stunting 41 among their offspring. 42 Persons with albinism, like persons with disabilities more broadly, are disproportionately at risk of the health consequences of these myriad climate __________________ 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 23-13701 Paul Dornan, María José Ogando Portela and Kirrily Pells, “Climate shocks, food and nutrition security: evidence from the Young Lives cohort study”, Oxfam Research Reports (Oxford, University of Oxford, September 2014). Health conditions like albinism are associated with both direct and indirect costs. Direct costs refer to the expenses associated with managing a condition, such as medical bills, rehabilitation, assistive devices and transportation costs. Indirect costs refer to the broader economic and social consequences that can lead to decreased income, limited job opportunities and financial instability. Discrimination in education and employment, leading to lower wages and reduced job opportunities, is an example of an indirect cost experienced by persons with albinism. Wh en an adult or child with albinism requires additional support from a household member, it limits the time that the latter can spend on income generation and is another example of an indirect cost. Ikponwosa Ero and others, People with Albinism Worldwide. Ibid. Penelope J. S. Stein and Michael A. Stein, “Climate change and the right to health of people with disabilities”, The Lancet Global Health, vol. 10, No. 1 (January 2022). WHO, “Climate change and health”, fact sheet, 30 October 2021. Available at www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health. Grace Chang, Marta Favara and Rafael Novella, “The origins of cognitive skills and non-cognitive skills: the long-term effect of in-utero rainfall shocks in India”, Economics & Human Biology, vol. 44 (January 2022). Rainfall shocks refer to unexpected or extreme changes in the amount of rainfall in a particular area. In areas that are heavily reliant on agriculture, a sudden decrease in rainfall can lead to crop failure, loss of livestock and reduced yields, devastating local communities. Excessive rainfall can lead to landslides, flooding and disruption of economic activities. Stunting refers to a condition in which children have a lower height -for-age than is considered normal for their age group. Andreas Georgiadis and others, “Maternal undernutrition in adolescenc e and child human capital development over the life course: evidence from an international cohort study”, Economica, vol. 88, No. 352 (October 2021), pp. 942–968. 11/23