Reports

UNICEF’s Climate-SMART Primary Health Care Facilities: UNICEF’s Agenda for Action provides the overarching vision and organizing framework for strengthening climate- and disaster-resilient and environmentally sustainable primary health care facilities (PHCFs). The Agenda is organized around five S.M.A.R.T. dimensions—Sustainable practices, Managed risks, Adaptive infrastructure, Resilient workforce and Technology-enabled systems—and 15 facility-level criteria describing the conditions and capacities needed to maintain safe, equitable and continuous services under changing climate and environmental conditions.This Technical Compendium of Practical Measures for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health is the practical companion to the Agenda. It translates the Climate-SMART facility-level criteria into infrastructure, environmental-service, technology and operational options that can be considered according to local hazards, facility conditions, service needs, available resources, and implementation, operation and maintenance capacity.The measures included in this Compendium represent an initial structured compilation rather than an exhaustive or definitive list. The Compendium is intended to evolve as part of the Climate-SMART agenda, incorporating and refining practical measures as new evidence, technical guidance, technologies and implementation experience become available. This evolving approach is intended to keep the resource responsive to changing climate and environmental risks, PHC needs and lessons emerging from implementation in different contexts.A substantial body of guidance already addresses safe, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health care facilities. However, relevant measures are dispersed across health, WASH, engineering, architecture, infrastructure, energy and hazard-specific guidance. Many resources address health facilities broadly, focus primarily on hospitals, or are written for specialist technical audiences. Relatively few organize practical facility-level options in a format specifically oriented towards primary health care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and fewer still consider their application to the requirements of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) services.The added value of the Compendium is therefore to bring these dispersed measures into a common and comparable PHCF-oriented format, with particular attention to resource-constrained settings and the conditions required for safe and continuous MNCH service delivery. These include reliable water and sanitation, energy, thermal safety, indoor air quality, infection prevention and control, safe physical access, functioning equipment and continuity of essential supplies.

UNICEF’s Climate-SMART Primary Health Care Facilities: UNICEF’s Agenda for Action provides the overarching vision and organizing framework for strengthening climate- and disaster-resilient and environmentally sustainable primary health care facilities (PHCFs). The Agenda is organized around five S.M.A.R.T. dimensions—Sustainable practices, Managed risks, Adaptive infrastructure, Resilient workforce and Technology-enabled systems—and 15 facility-level criteria describing the conditions and capacities needed to maintain safe, equitable and continuous services under changing climate and environmental conditions.This Technical Compendium of Practical Measures for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health is the practical companion to the Agenda. It translates the Climate-SMART facility-level criteria into infrastructure, environmental-service, technology and operational options that can be considered according to local hazards, facility conditions, service needs, available resources, and implementation, operation and maintenance capacity.The measures included in this Compendium represent an initial structured compilation rather than an exhaustive or definitive list. The Compendium is intended to evolve as part of the Climate-SMART agenda, incorporating and refining practical measures as new evidence, technical guidance, technologies and implementation experience become available. This evolving approach is intended to keep the resource responsive to changing climate and environmental risks, PHC needs and lessons emerging from implementation in different contexts.A substantial body of guidance already addresses safe, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health care facilities. However, relevant measures are dispersed across health, WASH, engineering, architecture, infrastructure, energy and hazard-specific guidance. Many resources address health facilities broadly, focus primarily on hospitals, or are written for specialist technical audiences. Relatively few organize practical facility-level options in a format specifically oriented towards primary health care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and fewer still consider their application to the requirements of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) services.The added value of the Compendium is therefore to bring these dispersed measures into a common and comparable PHCF-oriented format, with particular attention to resource-constrained settings and the conditions required for safe and continuous MNCH service delivery. These include reliable water and sanitation, energy, thermal safety, indoor air quality, infection prevention and control, safe physical access, functioning equipment and continuity of essential supplies.

Context and Purpose of the Guide The UNICEF Healthy Environments for Healthy Children (HEHC) Framework recognizes that many of the most important risks to children’s health are shaped by the environments in which they live, grow, and receive care. Climate change, pollution, unsafe water and sanitation, and inadequate infrastructure directly affect maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes. Primary health care (PHC) facilities therefore play a critical role not only in providing care, but also in protecting children and families from environmental risks and maintaining essential services during climate-related disruptions. Many practical measures to improve the safety, resilience, and sustainability of health facilities are described in technical engineering, architecture, and infrastructure documents. However, these resources are often difficult to use for health managers, planners, and frontline professionals. This Technical Companion Guide was developed to bridge that gap. It translates technical measures into clearer, practical language to support discussion on which interventions are most relevant, feasible, and useful for PHC facilities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Organized as a compendium, the guide provides a consistent language for facility-level measures grounded in technical evidence, while remaining accessible to non-specialists. Its objective is to support health sector stakeholders in identifying, understanding, and prioritizing interventions that can strengthen the safety, resilience, and environmental performance of PHC facilities, with particular attention to maternal, newborn, and child health services in resource-constrained settings. The guide is intended for health managers, PHC coordinators, facility managers, frontline health professionals, Ministries of Health, UNICEF country offices, development partners, NGOs, and implementing organizations working to strengthen PHC systems and improve child health outcomes.

Summary of evidence and multisectoral interventions to tackle air pollution for a healthier, equitable futureClean air, healthy children: summary of evidence and multisectoral interventions to tackle air pollution for a healthier, equitable futureISBN (WHO) 978-92-4-011653-5 (electronic version)ISBN (WHO) 978-92-4-011654-2 (print version)ISBN (UNICEF) XXX© World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2025This joint report reflects the activities of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).Some rights reserved. This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Under the terms of this licence, you may copy, redistribute and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, provided the work is appropriately cited, as indicated below. In any use of this work, there should be no suggestion that WHO or UNICEF endorses any specific organization, products or services. The unauthorized use of the WHO or UNICEF names or logos is not permitted. If you adapt the work, then you must license your work under the same or equivalent Creative Commons licence. If you create a translation of this work, you should add the following disclaimer along with the suggested citation: “This translation was not created by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Neither WHO nor UNICEF are responsible for the content or accuracy of this translation. The original English edition shall be the binding and authentic edition”.Any mediation relating to disputes arising under the licence shall be conducted in accordance with the mediation rules of the World Intellectual Property Organization (http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/rules).Suggested citation. Clean air, healthy children: summary of evidence and multisectoral interventions to tackle air pollution for a healthier, equitable future. Geneva: World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2025. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.Cataloguing-in-Publication (CIP) data. CIP data are available at https://iris.who.int/.Sales, rights and licensing. To purchase WHO publications, see https://www.who.int/publications/book-orders. To submit requests for commercial use and queries on rights and licensing, see https://www.who.int/about/policies/publishing/copyright.Third-party materials. If you wish to reuse material from this work that is attributed to a third party, such as tables, figures or images, it is your responsibility to determine whether permission is needed for that reuse and to obtain permission from the copyright holder. The risk of claims resulting from infringement of any third-party-owned component in the work rests solely with the user.UNICEF and WHO Photographs. UNICEF and WHO photographs are copyrighted and are not to be reproduced in any medium without obtaining prior written permission. Permissions may be granted for one-time use in a context that accurately represents the real situation and identity of all human beings depicted. UNICEF and WHO photographs are not to be used in any commercial context; content may not be digitally altered to change meaning or context; assets may not be archived by any non-WHO or non-UNICEF entity. Requests for permission to reproduce UNICEF photographs should be addressed to UNICEF, Division of Communication, 3 United Nations Plaza, New York 10017, USA (email: [email protected]). Requests for permission to reproduce WHO photographs should be addressed to: http://www.who.int/copyright General disclaimers. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WHO or UNICEF concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted and dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers’ products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by WHO or UNICEF in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters.All reasonable precautions have been taken by WHO and UNICEF to verify the information contained in this publication. However, the published material is being distributed without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The responsibility for the interpretation and use of the material lies with the reader. In no event shall WHO or UNICEF be liable for damages arising from its use.

School Environmental Health focuses on creating a safe, clean, and healthy environment for students and staff. It covers areas such as safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, waste management, indoor air quality, food safety, and protection from environmental hazards. A healthy school environment supports student well-being, reduces the risk of illness, and helps create better conditions for learning.

Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"1914 translation by H. Rackham"But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?"Section 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC"At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio cumque nihil impedit quo minus id quod maxime placeat facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat."1914 translation by H. Rackham"On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammelled and when nothing prevents our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided. But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains."