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By Maxwell Awumah, RNG
Ho, June 6, GNA – Only six percent of
African children live in areas where air pollution is reliable at ground level,
leaving 500 million children from all over the continent living in areas without
reliable ways to measure air quality, according to a new report from UNICEF
published on World Environment Day.
For babies and young children, breathe
air pollution by particles is extremely harmful for health and development,
because it can cause permanent damage to brain tissue and lungs, depending on the
report copied to the Ghana Press Agency.
UNICEF warns that since the air pollution has been
not monitored in Africa as in other parts of the world ", we are not only
potentially underestimate the severity of the impact – we could also be
underestimate its scope ".
He said in Europe and North America 72 for
where air pollution has been measured, 43% in Asia,
and 25% in South America.
The report noted that air pollution was a major problem.
growing challenge for Africa and that air pollution has affected ecosystems – it is vital
livelihoods and health – as well as food crops.
A recent study in the report estimated the
economic cost of premature death from outdoor air pollution in Africa
to be 215 billion dollars.
Death due to the pollution of the outside air in Africa
rose from 164,000 in 1990 to 57% in almost three decades
to 258,000 in 2017.
He noted that without the ground level
control stations that reliably measure air quality, African children
increasingly at risk of unintentionally breathing air that was toxic to their
health and brain development with the ability to design effective responses
greatly compromised.
Henrietta Fore, Executive Director, UNICEF,
"Air pollution silently kills children, and in Africa
in particular, we know that the problem is serious, we just do not know how much. "
"Reduce children's exposure to pollutants
– and thus reduce the damage to children's health and early brain development.
development – begins with a reliable understanding of the quality of the air that they
breathe in the first place. "
The silent suffocation in Africa measures the
population of children living close to reliable monitoring of air quality at ground level
stations.
The report also offers advice on different
types of ground surveillance systems, from regulatory monitors to
low cost sensors.
He said that ultrafine pollution particles were
so small that they could get into the bloodstream, get to the brain and damage the
blood-brain barrier, which can cause neuroinflammation.
The report says of other types of pollution
particles, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, can damage
brain that have been essential to help neurons communicate, the basis for
learning and development of children.
He said to understand the full extent of the
problem, UNICEF urged governments to put in place permanent and quality programs.
ground level monitoring stations as public goods.
The report said when it is combined with satellite
imagery, such stations would be the backbone of a system that would help
improve the reliability of the less accurate monitoring stations that capture
variations between cities.
He stated that reliable ground-level data has helped to
better understand the daily – even hourly – fluctuations in air quality.
The report states that surveillance has also contributed to
identify sources of pollution, develop public health policy and inform
actions and interventions targeting the most affected.
UNICEF urged governments to invest
in renewable energy sources to replace the burning of fossil fuels; provide
affordable access to public transportation; increase green spaces in urban areas;
provide cleaner cooking and heating solutions; and create better waste
management options to prevent the burning of harmful chemicals in the open air.
She called for the prevention of
exposure to air pollution, especially through the creation of smart urbanism, so that
the main sources of pollution were not located near schools, clinics or hospitals;
and minimize exposure at home.
He insisted on the need to improve
overall health of children to improve their resilience through prevention
pneumonia treatment, as well as promoting exclusive badfeeding within
and good nutrition.
"The brain of a young child is particularly
vulnerable because it can be damaged by a lower dosage of toxic chemicals,
children breathe faster, and physical defenses and immunities are not
fully developed, "Fore said.
"If the toxic air delays the growth of our children
development, it also delays the development of our societies. All governments
should take the necessary steps so that we know exactly what we are
in the air and what it does for the health and health of our children
welfare. "
GNA
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