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The entire continent of Africa accounts for only 4% of global pollutant emissions. Despite this, more than 50% of the population suffers the climatic consequences. Heat waves and air pollution do not affect homogeneously, but have different effects on people's health depending on the location and the socio-economic situation.
The most vulnerable to the risks of climate change are the poorest, the elderly and children. Not only in some developing countries, but also in Europe.
The latest report from the European Environment Agency is proof of this. Uneven exposure and uneven impacts: Environmental causes continue to contribute to the spread of serious diseases and premature death, particularly in urban areas.
The air that breathe the children
The World Health Organization (WHO) calculated that 5.4 million children who died in 2017 were not yet five years old. That's about 15,000 people a day. The most important risks are related to malnutrition and diseases related to poor access to drinking water.
Climate change is already increasing the frequency of heat waves, droughts, extreme weather events and floods. Each of these phenomena, which worsen environmental conditions in some places, can increase the number of diseases and deaths related to malnutrition, water availability and air quality.
The role of cities
Cities contribute significantly to air pollution. They consume about 75% of the world's energy and emit between 50 and 60% of the total greenhouse gases in the world. This figure reaches about 80% if we include the emissions generated by city dwellers.
In Europe, the main sources of pollution are traffic and, in winter, domestic heating. These two sources emit fine and ultrafine dust capable of entering the airways (PM10, PM2.5, PM0.1) and polluting gases such as nitrogen dioxide (NOx). 2 ).
Because of their physical vulnerability, children are more susceptible to the harmful effects of environmental pollution. Today, the regions of the world most affected by air pollution are Southeast Asia and Africa.
India records about 91,000 child deaths annually, followed by Nigeria, which has more than 70,000 children. And according to the WHO, 93% of young people under 15, including 630 million under 5 years, breathe polluted air every day.
In the poorest regions of the world, the number of deaths due to pollution is higher than in the richer regions. But socio-economic status is a factor that determines the quality of health, even in the same region.
In Africa, urban pollution causes 28% of deaths of poor children under 5 years and 17% of deaths of children living in middle and high income families. The proportions are not very different from those in Europe, where 20% of low-income children and 12% of the richest are dying.
The greatest number of victims depends on the quality of the air inside the houses. Domestic pollution is a very serious problem in countries where large quantities of polluting sources are still used for heating and cooking. The population in difficulty is the most affected: 53% of poor children in Africa against 9% of the rich.
In the West, pollution mortality is generally lower, but scientific research studies and gets first results showing that exposure to environmental pollution can have many health effects.
People living in urban areas are often more exposed to air pollution. Compared to adults, children breathe more air, drink more water and eat more food in proportion to their weight. If these are polluted, the health risks for children increase.
Warning: "The views / contents expressed in this article only imply that the responsibility of the authors) and do not necessarily reflect those of modern Ghana. Modern Ghana can not be held responsible for inaccurate or incorrect statements contained in this article. "
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