Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have developed a method for predicting the likelihood of low birthweights in West Africa, based on climate and socioeconomic data. Their model, when incorporated into an early warning system for child health in the region, could give decision makers and aid organizations the time necessary to prevent malnutrition and its downstream effects.
“Policy makers, humanitarian agencies, other international organizations, they may be able to look at the climate data now and then anticipate that there will be large-scale low birthweight issues,” said Shraddhanand Shukla, a researcher in the Department of Geography at UCSB, who specializes in drought monitoring and climate forecasting. “And perhaps something can be done about it.”
Shukla’s paper, co-authored with fellow UCSB geography research scientist Frank Davenport, appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more
October 27, 2026 - 12:28pm