Climate Change and Its Emerging Impact on Pediatric Gastrointestinal Infections in Indonesia – A Review Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58427/apghn.4.3.2025.151-157Keywords:
climate change, gastrointestinal infection, indonesia, surveillanceAbstract
Background: Pediatric gastrointestinal (GI) infections remain a major public health issue in Indonesia, particularly among children under five. These infections are closely linked to poor sanitation, unsafe water, malnutrition, and inadequate healthcare access. Climate change has intensified these challenges, with rising temperatures, floods, and droughts increasingly influencing disease patterns. Despite this growing threat, limited research has explored how environmental changes specifically impact pediatric GI infections in Indonesia.
Discussion: Climate change acts as a multiplier of risk for GI infections by disrupting water and sanitation systems, affecting food safety, and limiting hygiene practices. Floods often contaminate drinking water, while extreme heat enhances pathogen survival in food and water. Droughts reduce water availability, limiting handwashing and sanitation. These environmental stressors disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, especially children living in poverty or disaster-prone areas. In addition, climate-related events often disrupt healthcare services and contribute to malnutrition, further increasing children's susceptibility to infections. However, Indonesia’s health and climate policies remain fragmented. There is a lack of integrated research, limited disease surveillance, and insufficient public health preparedness that specifically addresses pediatric needs in a changing climate.
Conclusion: To address the growing threat of climate-sensitive pediatric GI infections, Indonesia must strengthen its surveillance systems, invest in climate-resilient health infrastructure, and integrate environmental risks into child health strategies. A coordinated, multisectoral response that prioritizes vulnerable children is essential to reduce disease burden and improve health outcomes in the face of climate change.
References
Kadim M, Karyana IPG, Darma A, Yosia M, Basrowi RW, Dilantika C, et al. Current landscape and overview of gastrointestinal health in indonesian children: A scoping review. The Open Public Health Journal. 2024;17. https://doi.org/10.2174/0118749445339403240916105656 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2174/0118749445339403240916105656
Saatchi M, Khankeh HR, Shojafard J, Barzanji A, Ranjbar M, Nazari N, et al. Communicable diseases outbreaks after natural disasters: A systematic scoping review for incidence, risk factors and recommendations. Progress in Disaster Science. 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/preprints.55153
Charnley GEC, Kelman I, Gaythorpe K, Murray K. Understanding the risks for post-disaster infectious disease outbreaks: A systematic review protocol. BMJ Open. 2020;10(9):e039608. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039608 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039608
Walika M, Moitinho De Almeida M, Castro Delgado R, Arcos González P. Outbreaks following natural disasters: A review of the literature. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2023;17:e444. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2023.96 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2023.96
Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia. Indonesia health survey; 2023.
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). 2024 disasters in numbers. Brussels, Belgium: CRED; 2025.
UNICEF. Climate change and nutrition in indonesia. A review of the evidence for policy and programme strengthening. Jakarta, Indonesia: United Nations Children’s Fund; 2024.
Carazo Gallego B, Montesinos Sanchis E, Martínez Campos L, López Medina EM, Alegría Coll I, López Hortelano MG, Calvo Rey C. Most common flood-associated infectious diseases in children. An Pediatr (Engl Ed). 2025;102(3):503777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anpede.2025.503777 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anpede.2025.503777
Wang P, Asare E, Pitzer VE, Dubrow R, Chen K. Associations between long-term drought and diarrhea among children under five in low- and middle-income countries. Nat Commun. 2022;13(1):3661. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31291-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31291-7
van Duuren IC, van Hengel ORJ, Penders J, Duijts L, Smits HH, Tramper-Stranders GA. The developing immune system in preterm born infants: From contributor to potential solution for respiratory tract infections and wheezing. Allergy. 2024;79(11):2924-42. https://doi.org/10.1111/all.16342 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/all.16342
Dharmayanti I, Tjandrarini D, Hidayangsih P. Climatic factors and childhood diarrhea in south kalimantan in 2017-2020 vol 53 (supplement 2) 2022. 2023;Volume 53 (Supplement 2):65-80.
Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia. Profil kesehatan indonesia 2023. Jakarta: Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia; 2024.
Arifin H, Rakhmawati W, Kurniawati Y, Pradipta RO, Efendi F, Gusmaniarti G, et al. Prevalence and determinants of diarrhea among under-five children in five southeast asian countries: Evidence from the demographic health survey. J Pediatr Nurs. 2022;66:e37-e45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2022.06.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2022.06.005
Ana Bilah AN, Dinana Z, Maharani AT, Fitria AL, Juniastuti, Athiyyah AF, et al. Epidemiology of rotavirus infection in children under five years in dr. Soetomo hospital, surabaya (2015-2019): Gambaran epidemiologi kasus infeksi rotavirus pada balita di rsud dr. Soetomo pada tahun 2015-2019. Jurnal Berkala Epidemiologi. 2024;12(3):255-62. https://doi.org/10.20473/jbe.V12I32024.255-262 DOI: https://doi.org/10.20473/jbe.V12I32024.255-262
Puspandari N, Amalia N, Hartoyo Y, Nursofiah S, Sunarno S, Sariadji K, et al. Enteric pathogen among children under five years old with diarrheal diseases in indonesia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2021;913(1):012098. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/913/1/012098 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/913/1/012098
UNICEF. Climate landscape analysis for children in indonesia. Jakarta: United Nations Children's Fund; 2023.
Amaruddin AI, Hamid F, Koopman JPR, Muhammad M, Brienen EA, van Lieshout L, et al. The bacterial gut microbiota of schoolchildren from high and low socioeconomic status: A study in an urban area of makassar, indonesia. Microorganisms. 2020;8(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8060961 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8060961
Sulistiyowati N, Tjandrarini DH, Titaley CR, Que BJ, Hidayangsih PS, Suparmi, et al. Suboptimal child healthcare practices and the development of multiple infectious diseases in children aged 24-59 months. Front Public Health. 2024;12:1340559. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1340559 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1340559
Suparmi S, Sasman MF, Ratnawati R, Rustanti N. Hygiene and food safety practices among mothers as predictors of diarrhea risk in toddlers in purwawinangun village, west java, indonesia. Front Public Health. 2025;13:1530828. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1530828 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1530828
Willson KA, FitzGerald GJ, Lim D. Disaster management in rural and remote primary health care: A scoping review. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2021;36(3):362-9. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1049023x21000200 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X21000200
Banuet-Martinez M, Vriezen R, Yamamoto S, Espinosa-Romero M, Cunsolo A, Harper S. Nutrition, immunity, and infectious diseases in the context of climate change and health syndemic: A scoping review for north america. Environmental Research Letters. 2024;19. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad8cf0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad8cf0
Anggraini N. Healthcare access and utilization in rural communities of indonesia. Journal of Community Health Provision. 2023;3:14-9. https://doi.org/10.55885/jchp.v3i1.214 DOI: https://doi.org/10.55885/jchp.v3i1.214
Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia. National action plan for climate change adaptation (ran-api). Jakarta: Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS); 2014.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Daffa Arkananta Putra Yanni, Rafiqa Rais Akbar
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
