UNB, Dhaka :
Far more effort and resources should be devoted worldwide to protect people from the negative health impacts of toxic pollution, said United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes Baskut Tuncak on Wednesday. Tuncak’s call comes as the governing body of World Health Organization (WHO) meets in Geneva from 18 to 26 May, according to a WHO media release.
The World Health Assembly (WHA) defines the organisation’s policies, supervises its financial strategies, and reviews and approves its proposed programme budget.
“WHO can play a much larger, more active role in preventing adverse health effects from pollution,” Tuncak stressed. “A tiny fraction of WHO’s proposed budget for the next two years is for environmental health, despite clear evidence of large-scale harm today and the likelihood of increased harm in the coming years.”
An estimated 13 million deaths per year and about one quarter of global burden of disease, namely, the impact of health problems, are caused by environmental determinants of health such as pollution of air, water, land and others, said the release.
Pollution is the leading cause of death in low- and middle-income countries and poor women and children who live and work in the world’ s most polluted environments are most affected.
Far more effort and resources should be devoted worldwide to protect people from the negative health impacts of toxic pollution, said United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes Baskut Tuncak on Wednesday. Tuncak’s call comes as the governing body of World Health Organization (WHO) meets in Geneva from 18 to 26 May, according to a WHO media release.
The World Health Assembly (WHA) defines the organisation’s policies, supervises its financial strategies, and reviews and approves its proposed programme budget.
“WHO can play a much larger, more active role in preventing adverse health effects from pollution,” Tuncak stressed. “A tiny fraction of WHO’s proposed budget for the next two years is for environmental health, despite clear evidence of large-scale harm today and the likelihood of increased harm in the coming years.”
An estimated 13 million deaths per year and about one quarter of global burden of disease, namely, the impact of health problems, are caused by environmental determinants of health such as pollution of air, water, land and others, said the release.
Pollution is the leading cause of death in low- and middle-income countries and poor women and children who live and work in the world’ s most polluted environments are most affected.
