Racism, xenophobia, and discrimination: data disaggregation is a complex but crucial step to improving child health

Racism, xenophobia, and discrimination are major determinants of child health, leading to poor health among affected children at every stage of their life, with potential intergenerational implications. 1 Devakumar D Selvarajah S Abubakar I et al. Racism, xenophobia, discrimination, and the determination of health. Lancet. 2022; 400: 2097-2108 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (7) Google Scholar , 2 UNICEF Rights denied: the impact of discrimination on children. https://www.unicef.org/reports/rights-denied-discrimination-childrenDate: November, 2022 Date accessed: February 17, 2023 Google Scholar Poor health outcomes for children might arise directly from interpersonal forms of violence and abuse, but also structurally via restricted access to health care and other services. Health effects can include psychological distress, depression, malnutrition, asthma, increased health risks in the short term and long term and, in some cases, increased mortality in affected populations. 3 Selvarajah S Corona Maioli S Deivanayagam TA et al. Racism, xenophobia, and discrimination: mapping pathways to health outcomes. Lancet. 2022; 400: 2109-2124 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (7) Google Scholar The disaggregation of data makes health inequities visible that would otherwise be masked, allowing for an intersectional approach to designing policies and programmes. Regular tracking of disaggregated data can also help to hold decision makers to account in making progress towards increased equality and inclusivity. However, child health data are infrequently disaggregated in ways that can spotlight inequalities among children who face racism and discrimination, and action is insufficient on this crucial health issue.