Library | ESG issues
Health
Health encompasses physical, mental, and social well-being. Ensuring universal access to quality healthcare is essential to sustainable development, as it improves life expectancy, reduces child and maternal mortality, and combats infectious and non-communicable diseases. While significant progress has been made, persistent challenges remain, requiring healthcare funding, improved sanitation, and greater access to medical services to enhance global health outcomes.
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Indicators, measures and methods for monitoring climate resilient WASH – indicator metadata
This research report presents 45 draft indicators for monitoring climate-resilient WASH services. Developed by WHO, UNICEF, and academic partners, the metadata assists national governments in standardising data collection. It covers adaptation actions, infrastructure attributes, service functioning, and user experiences to ensure resilient water and sanitation systems amid climate threats.
Social vulnerability amplifies global inequality in urban heat risk
This research assesses urban heat risk across 1,029 global cities between 2000 and 2019. It reveals that incorporating multidimensional social vulnerability increases the identified North-South inequality by 65%. Urban heat risk trends in the Global South are nearly five times those of the Global North, necessitating equitable climate adaptation strategies.
Mapping the global research landscape on climate change and children’s mental health: trends, themes, and inequalities
This systematic review provides a bibliometric analysis of climate change and children’s psychological wellbeing research (2001–2025). It reveals explosive growth but significant geographic inequality, with Global North institutions dominating production. The study advocates for decolonising frameworks and redirecting resources to ensure epistemic justice for climate-vulnerable populations.
Moving beyond exposure: A globally comparable framework for heat risk assessment in cities
This research provides a globally comparable framework for urban heat risk assessment, integrating hazard exposure, socio-economic vulnerability, and coping capacity. Analysing 205 large cities, it finds that 95% of high-risk areas are concentrated in the Global South, where infrastructural deficits and demographic factors significantly amplify climatic hazards.
Water Under Fire: An urgent call to protect water, sanitation and hygiene in conflict
This report is part of a series examining the impact of armed conflict on water, sanitation and hygiene systems globally. It identifies patterns of harm to infrastructure, personnel and users, while detailing adaptive approaches and conflict-resilient strategies to maintain essential services in fragile environments to protect children.
Climate change increases emergency department visits for heat-related illness in the United States
This research quantifies human-caused climate change's contribution to heat-related illness emergency department visits across the United States. Between 2018 and 2025, climate change contributed approximately 27.1% to the national visit rate, with specific regional impacts exceeding 40% during peak months and significant burdens recorded during major heatwave events.
Two decades of urban heat intensification and exposure across 1400 cities
This report analyses satellite-based land surface temperature and population exposure across 1400 global cities between 2002 and 2021. Findings indicate that urban surface temperatures rose significantly, with climate change amplifying heat exposure by 82% relative to population growth alone, particularly affecting continental and arid regions.
Climate change is projected to widen global inequalities in ocean-derived wellbeing
This research introduces the Blue Well-being Index to assess ocean-derived prosperity across 143 countries. Projections under high-emission scenarios indicate a nine per cent global decline by 2100. Both high-income and low-income nations face disproportionate losses, necessitating coordinated international mitigation and conservation efforts to protect ocean health.
Turning digital into impact: 10 UNDP country stories
This report details ten UNDP initiatives demonstrating how digital transformation drives social impact. Covering nations like Brazil, India, and Ukraine, it showcases human-centred technological investments that improve justice systems, healthcare delivery, and climate resilience. The findings emphasise that institutional change and trust-building are as critical as the technology itself.
Global gender gap report series
The Global Gender Gap Report is an annual series by the World Economic Forum tracking gender parity across 145 economies. It evaluates economic, educational, health, and political gaps to help finance professionals assess human capital risk, ESG factors, and long-term economic resilience.
El Niño Heat Mortality Tracker
The El Niño Heat Mortality Tracker projects heat-related deaths at a state and provincial level. Developed by the Climate Impact Lab, it helps users visualise the human toll of extreme temperature events to inform risk assessment and public health strategies.
Women’s health R&I in Europe: Growing investment, persistent gaps, and the case for a coordinated response
This research examines women’s health Research and Innovation (R&I) in Europe, identifying a mismatch between disease burden and investment. While political attention is growing, funding remains concentrated in early-stage research. The report advocates for a coordinated European strategy to bridge evidence and translation gaps across the innovation pathway.
Financing zero waste: A high-level synthesis report
This research outlines a two-tier strategy for financing zero waste, highlighting systemic barriers and the economic value of resource recovery. It details how aligning national policy with local implementation through tiered city archetypes can generate fiscal savings, improve public health, and create inclusive employment opportunities in circular economies.
When clean air is sacrificed for global commodities: Indonesia forest and peatland fire facts report 2026
This report examines the 2026 Indonesia forest and peatland fires, highlighting the failure of restoration efforts and the impact of corporate entities. It details health crises affecting 12.5 million people, significant carbon emissions, and transboundary haze while demanding stricter legal accountability for regional governments and global commodity producers.
Impact investing messaging playbook
The GIIN Impact Investing Messaging Playbook provides a unified communication framework for members. It outlines core industry stories, guiding principles, and tailored messaging for diverse audiences and sectors, including energy and healthcare. The report highlights the industry's growth to a $1.571 trillion market dedicated to solving systemic global problems.
A heat circuit breaker for the UK: Preparing for a hotter future: A framing report
This report by the National Heat Risk Commission examines the UK’s lack of preparedness for extreme heat following the summer of 2026. It highlights systemic risks, detailing over £4.4 billion in economic costs and 2,877 deaths, while proposing ten key recommendations to strengthen national heat governance and resilience.
