New Report Highlights the Impact of Air Pollution in Children

A new report highlights the importance of working with local communities to understand social and cultural contexts and to co-design workable and realistic solutions to reduce air pollution.

A new report outlines the sources of air pollution, its effects on children and young people, and highlights the work being done to address the issue. The report is led by Save the Children International organization.

Air pollution is a major health challenge in low to middle income countries where children are more vulnerable.

Air Pollution - Pollutants - Health Effect - Efforts to Reduce
Nearly 2.4 million deaths every year are attributable to air pollution. Air pollutants may be solid particles, liquid droplets or gases. Proper planning methods should be adopted to reduce air pollution.

‘Use visual arts, music and theatre to raise awareness on issues of air pollution.’

Every day around 93 per cent of the world’s children under 19 years breathe air that is so polluted, it puts their health and development at risk. In 2019, air pollution contributed to nearly 500,000 deaths among infants in their first month of life.

Report authors investigated the huge impact the unregulated burning of plastic waste has on air pollution and identified open burning of waste, including plastic waste as a significant source of air pollution in cities in less developed countries.

Plastic waste is often utilized to supplement fuel on open fires used for cooking, heating and lighting homes in informal settlements in the global south. This results in high exposures to air pollution in children, both outdoors and indoors.

Burning Wood, Coal for Cooking Linked to Higher Risk of Eye Diseases
Cooking with coal or wood is linked to an elevated risk of eye diseases such as cataract, conjunctivitis, and disorders of the sclera, cornea, iris, and ciliary body.

They also used art-based methods in the Sustainable Transitions to End Plastic Pollution (STEPP) project, collaborating with community and environmental organisations in Kenya and Bangladesh to explore and initiate solutions to plastic waste.

STEPP outputs include a documentary, music video and a mural, all created with artists and musicians from the Mukuru Youth Initiative to educate the local community on reducing plastic pollution.

Air Pollution Escalates Obesity Risk in Babies
Women exposed to increased levels of air pollution during pregnancy have babies who gain weight unusually fast in the first months after birth.

Interventions to solve air pollution problems need to be socially and culturally appropriate, affordable and acceptable to the recipients.

It is important to have meaningful consultations with stakeholders, working with individuals and communities who are affected, and building capacity within communities to identify, understand and help to create solutions.

Breathing Dirty Air may Lead to Kidney Failure
Breathing in unclean air due to increasing air pollution could cause kidney damage with resultant kidney failure according to a recent epidemiologic study.

The report concludes that to reduce air pollution, emissions and exposure to pollution, action is needed at local, national and international levels. In many cases, these actions can contribute to achieving multiple other UN sustainable development goals, including climate change mitigation.

An integrated approach to action is needed, involving collaboration with community members, planners and policymakers.

Source-Medindia