Air pollution is proving to be deadly for kids, damaging their brains and infecting them with serious diseases, finds a new World Health Organization (WHO) report. Every day 1.8 billion children, which makes around 93 percent of the world’s children under the age of 15 years, breathe air that is so polluted it puts their health and development at serious risk.
The report examines the heavy toll that air pollution has on child health, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Tragically, many of them die. The WHO estimates that 600,000 children died in 2016 from acute lower respiratory infections caused by dirty air.
After India, Nigeria ranked second at 98,001 number of child deaths due to air pollution in 2016, followed by Pakistan (38,252), Democratic Republic of Congo (32,647) and Ethiopia (20,330).
The report launches on the eve of WHO’s first ever Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, where world leaders will commit to act against this serious health threat. FIT and #MyRightToBreathe are reporting live from the event updating you with all the crucial details that come out.
The report slated the death rate per child ratio in India at 50.8 per 1,00,000 children. It also found that out of the number of children under five, who had passed away due to toxic air pollution in 2016, the percentage was higher among the girls.
Air pollution is one of the leading threats to child health, accounting for almost 1 in 10 deaths in children under five years of age. The report reveals that when pregnant women are exposed to polluted air, they are more likely to give birth prematurely, and have small, low birth-weight children.
Children who have been exposed to high levels of air pollution may be at greater risk for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease later in life. It’s damaging children’s lung function, even at lower levels of exposures.
In low and middle-income countries around the world, 98 percent of all children under 5 are exposed to PM2.5 levels above WHO air quality guidelines. In comparison, in high-income countries, 52 percent of children under 5 are exposed to levels above WHO air quality guidelines.
One reason why children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution is that they breathe more rapidly than adults and so absorb more pollutants.
They also live closer to the ground, where some pollutants reach peak concentrations – at a time when their brains and bodies are still developing.
More than 40 percent of the world’s population, including 1 billion children, is exposed to high levels of household air pollution from mainly cooking with polluting technologies and fuels.
In addition, newborns and small children are often at home. If the family is burning fuels like wood and kerosene for cooking, heating and lighting, they will be exposed to higher levels of pollution than children who spend more time outside.
Stakeholders from the conference have come up with strategies to reduce household as well industrial pollution.
Here are some proposed steps to be implemented with support from WHO.
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