They die every day in the world almost 2 thousand children because of theair pollution. The bad air quality is second only to malnutrition as a cause of death among children under 5 years of age and represents one of the most serious risk factors worldwide.
In 2021, air pollution has caused over 8 million deaths, among adults and children. It has now become the second cause of death worldwide, surpassing tobacco consumption, second only to hypertension as a risk factor for the entire population and second only to malnutrition as a mortality risk factor for children. These are the results of the 2024 Global State of the Air Report, published by Health Effects Institute an independent US research organization, created for the first time in partnership with Unicef and resumed since The Guardian.
Air pollution, vulnerable children
The main data of the study says that air pollution caused 8.1 million deaths globally in 2021, becoming the second leading risk factor for death, including for children under five. Of the total deaths, almost 90% of the disease burden related to air pollution is represented by non-communicable diseasesincluding heart disease, stroke, diabetes, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Children are particularly vulnerable and the data related to the impact of air pollution are alarming, even improving compared to 2020. In 2021 more than 700 thousand deaths in children under 5 have been linked to air pollution. They account for 15% of all global deaths in children under five. 500 thousand of these deaths, explains the dossier, are linked todomestic air pollution due to cooking with polluting fuels in closed environmentsespecially in Africa and Asia.
Children are vulnerable because air pollution affects their health, with effects that begin already in the womb and ranging from premature birth to low birth weight, from asthma to lung diseases.
Exposure to air pollution in young children is linked to pneumoniaresponsible for the death of 1 in 5 children globally, andasthmathe most common chronic respiratory disease in older children.
The dossier then reports that “the inequalities linked to the impact of air pollution on children’s health they are impressive. The air pollution-related death rate in children under 5 in East, West, Central and Southern Africa is 100 times higher to their counterparts in high-income countries.”
«Despite the progress in maternal and child health, every day almost 2000 children die under five years old due to health impacts related to air pollution – he said the Deputy Director General of Unicef Kitty van der Heijden – Our inaction is having profound effects on the next generation, with lifelong impacts on health and well-being. The global urgency is undeniable. It is imperative that governments and businesses consider locally available estimates and data and use them to drive meaningful, child-focused action to reduce air pollution and protect children’s health.”
Pollution has a greater burden on the most vulnerable people, children and the elderly. It is still a factor of inequality.
«This new report offers a stark reminder of the significant impacts that air pollution has on human health, with too much of the burden borne by young children, elderly populations and low- and middle-income countriessaid Dr Pallavi Pant, HEI’s global health officer, who oversaw the release of the report.
