Masum Al Jaki :
Around 8,5000 children under age 5 die every year from diseases caused by or exacerbated by outdoor and indoor air pollution in Bangladesh. Globally the number of child death due to air pollution is 6, 00,000. The pollutants don’t only harm children’s developing lungs, they can actually cross the blood-brain barrier and permanently damage their developing brains, and, thus, their futures.
This death figure is alarming and we need to do immediate steps because air pollution leads to the deaths of more children yearly than malaria and HIV/AIDS combined (UNICEF).
If we look on the process of early childhood development we see that it is a critical period for the continued development and maturation of several biological systems such as the brain, lung, and immune system and air toxics can impair lung function and neurodevelopment, or exacerbate existing conditions, such as asthma. Infants who were born premature or growth-retarded may be particularly vulnerable to additional environmental insults, for example, due to immaturity of the lungs at birth.
There are several biological reasons why young children may be more susceptible to air pollution’s effects. Children’s lungs, immune system, and brain are immature at birth and continue to rapidly develop until approximately age 6, and the cell layer lining the inside of the respiratory tract is particularly permeable during this age period. Compared to adults, children also have a larger lung surface area in relation to their body weight, and breathe 50% more air per kilogram of body weight. The process of early growth and development is important for the health of the child in general, and therefore may also be a critical time when air pollution exposures can have lasting effects on future health.
Additionally, children tend to spend more time outdoors doing strenuous activities, such as playing sports, so they are breathing more outdoor air compared to adults, who spend on average about 90 per cent of their time indoors.
Compared to the inhalation of cigarette smoke during active or passive smoking, the gases and particles in ambient air pollution are relatively diluted, resulting in relatively small risk increases for reproductive and children’s health outcomes. For the most part, the increased risks for pregnancy outcomes in more polluted versus less polluted areas range from 10 to 30 per cent for preterm birth and low birth weight, and between 5 and 20 per cent for infant mortality.
Together, outdoor and indoor air pollution are directly linked to pneumonia and other respiratory diseases that account for almost one in 10 under-five deaths, making air pollution one of the leading dangers to children’s health.
The UNICEF study reveals that almost one in seven of the world’s children, 300 million, live in areas with the most toxic levels of outdoor air pollution – six or more times higher than international guidelines – reveals the new report.
The satellite imagery confirms that around 2 billion children live in areas where outdoor air pollution, caused by factors such as vehicle emissions, heavy use of fossil fuels, dust and burning of waste, exceeds minimum air quality guidelines set by the World Health Organization.
South Asia has the largest number of children living in these areas, at 620 million, with Africa following at 520 million children. The East Asia and Pacific region has 450 million children living in areas that exceed guideline limits. Bangladesh has one of the largest burdens of child mortality associated with indoor air pollution.
It will also have a positive impact on women’s health and time spent in the kitchen as Bangladeshi women on average spend four to five hours a day on cooking, and six to eight hours a day in the kitchen.
The study also examines the heavy toll of indoor pollution, commonly caused by use of fuels like coal and wood for cooking and heating, which mostly affects children of the low-income groups, in rural areas.
To overcome the problem we need to reduce pollution by cutting back on fossil fuel combustion and investing in energy efficiency, increase children’s access to health care, including more immunization programs and information programs about pneumonia, a leading killer of children under 5, minimize children’s exposure to air pollution by keeping schools away from factories and other pollution sources and using cleaner cookstoves in homes and improve monitoring of air pollution. Therefore, protecting children from air pollution is not only in someone’s best interests; it is also in the best interests of the societies-a benefit realised in reduced health costs, in increased productivity, in a cleaner, safer environment, and thus, in more sustainable development. n
Around 8,5000 children under age 5 die every year from diseases caused by or exacerbated by outdoor and indoor air pollution in Bangladesh. Globally the number of child death due to air pollution is 6, 00,000. The pollutants don’t only harm children’s developing lungs, they can actually cross the blood-brain barrier and permanently damage their developing brains, and, thus, their futures.
This death figure is alarming and we need to do immediate steps because air pollution leads to the deaths of more children yearly than malaria and HIV/AIDS combined (UNICEF).
If we look on the process of early childhood development we see that it is a critical period for the continued development and maturation of several biological systems such as the brain, lung, and immune system and air toxics can impair lung function and neurodevelopment, or exacerbate existing conditions, such as asthma. Infants who were born premature or growth-retarded may be particularly vulnerable to additional environmental insults, for example, due to immaturity of the lungs at birth.
There are several biological reasons why young children may be more susceptible to air pollution’s effects. Children’s lungs, immune system, and brain are immature at birth and continue to rapidly develop until approximately age 6, and the cell layer lining the inside of the respiratory tract is particularly permeable during this age period. Compared to adults, children also have a larger lung surface area in relation to their body weight, and breathe 50% more air per kilogram of body weight. The process of early growth and development is important for the health of the child in general, and therefore may also be a critical time when air pollution exposures can have lasting effects on future health.
Additionally, children tend to spend more time outdoors doing strenuous activities, such as playing sports, so they are breathing more outdoor air compared to adults, who spend on average about 90 per cent of their time indoors.
Compared to the inhalation of cigarette smoke during active or passive smoking, the gases and particles in ambient air pollution are relatively diluted, resulting in relatively small risk increases for reproductive and children’s health outcomes. For the most part, the increased risks for pregnancy outcomes in more polluted versus less polluted areas range from 10 to 30 per cent for preterm birth and low birth weight, and between 5 and 20 per cent for infant mortality.
Together, outdoor and indoor air pollution are directly linked to pneumonia and other respiratory diseases that account for almost one in 10 under-five deaths, making air pollution one of the leading dangers to children’s health.
The UNICEF study reveals that almost one in seven of the world’s children, 300 million, live in areas with the most toxic levels of outdoor air pollution – six or more times higher than international guidelines – reveals the new report.
The satellite imagery confirms that around 2 billion children live in areas where outdoor air pollution, caused by factors such as vehicle emissions, heavy use of fossil fuels, dust and burning of waste, exceeds minimum air quality guidelines set by the World Health Organization.
South Asia has the largest number of children living in these areas, at 620 million, with Africa following at 520 million children. The East Asia and Pacific region has 450 million children living in areas that exceed guideline limits. Bangladesh has one of the largest burdens of child mortality associated with indoor air pollution.
It will also have a positive impact on women’s health and time spent in the kitchen as Bangladeshi women on average spend four to five hours a day on cooking, and six to eight hours a day in the kitchen.
The study also examines the heavy toll of indoor pollution, commonly caused by use of fuels like coal and wood for cooking and heating, which mostly affects children of the low-income groups, in rural areas.
To overcome the problem we need to reduce pollution by cutting back on fossil fuel combustion and investing in energy efficiency, increase children’s access to health care, including more immunization programs and information programs about pneumonia, a leading killer of children under 5, minimize children’s exposure to air pollution by keeping schools away from factories and other pollution sources and using cleaner cookstoves in homes and improve monitoring of air pollution. Therefore, protecting children from air pollution is not only in someone’s best interests; it is also in the best interests of the societies-a benefit realised in reduced health costs, in increased productivity, in a cleaner, safer environment, and thus, in more sustainable development. n
[Masum Al Jaki, Deputy Manager, Palli-Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF)]
