Only six percent of African children live in unpolluted areas | Science and environment

According to a new UNICEF report released on World Environment Day, only six percent of African children live in areas where air pollution is at ground level, leaving 500 million children throughout the continent living in areas without any reliable way to measure the quality of the air. .

For babies and young children, breathing particulate air pollution is extremely harmful to their health and development, as this can cause permanent damage to brain tissue and lungs, according to the report copied to the News Agency. from Ghana.

UNICEF warns that, as air pollution is not monitored in Africa as in other parts of the world, "we do not potentially underestimate the severity of the impact, we could also under- estimate the scope.

In Europe and North America, 72% of children live where air pollution was measured, 43% in Asia and 25% in South America.

The report noted that air pollution posed a growing challenge for Africa and that this pollution was impacting ecosystems, essential for livelihoods and health, as well as food crops. .

A recent study in the report estimated the $ 215 billion economic cost of premature deaths from outdoor air pollution in Africa.

The number of deaths from outdoor air pollution in Africa has increased by 57% in almost three decades, from 164,000 in 1990 to 258,000 in 2017.

He noted that, without ground-based monitoring stations that reliably measure air quality, African children are increasingly likely to inadvertently breathe air that is toxic to their health and brain development, with the ability to respond effective greatly compromised.

Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF, said: "Air pollution silently kills children, and especially in Africa, we know the problem is serious, we simply do not know what a point it is serious ".

"Reducing children's exposure to pollutants – and thus the damage done to children's health and early brain development – begins with a reliable understanding of the quality of the air they breathe. "

Silent suffocation in Africa measures the population of children living near reliable ground – level air quality monitoring stations.

The report also provides guidance on different types of ground-based monitoring systems, from regulatory level monitors to low cost sensors.

The ultrafine particles of pollution were so small that they could enter the bloodstream, travel to the brain and damage the blood-brain barrier, which can cause neuroinflammation.

According to the report, other types of polluting particles, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, can damage areas of the brain that are essential for neural communication, the foundation of children's learning and development.

To understand the magnitude of the problem, UNICEF urged governments to establish permanent ground-level quality monitoring stations as public badets.

According to the report, when combined with satellite images, these stations would form the backbone of a system that would help improve the reliability of less accurate monitoring stations capturing variations between cities.

Reliable ground-level data has helped to better understand the daily – even hourly – fluctuations in air quality.

The report says monitoring has also helped identify sources of pollution, define public health policies and inform actions and interventions targeting those 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.

He called for the prevention of children's exposure to air pollution, including the establishment of smart urban planning, so that the main sources of pollution are not located near schools, clinics or hospitals; and minimize exposure at home.

He emphasized the need to improve children's overall health in order to improve their resilience through the prevention and treatment of pneumonia, as well as by promoting exclusive badfeeding and good nutrition.

"The brain of a young child is particularly vulnerable because it can be damaged by a lower dose of toxic chemicals, children breathe faster and physical defenses and immunities are not fully developed," said Fore .

"If the toxic air delays the development of our children, it also delays the development of our societies. All governments should take the necessary steps to ensure that we know exactly what we are doing and what it is doing for the health and well-being of our children. "