WHO: "93% of children in the world breathe toxic air every day"



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Every day, 93% of the world's children under the age of 15 breathe air so polluted that it seriously endangers their health and development. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports this in a new report

. In its report, WHO has studied the effects of air pollution on the health of children around the world. This shows that about 1.8 billion children breathe a highly polluted air each day. The consequences can be fatal. It is estimated that about 600,000 children died of acute respiratory infections due to air pollution.

"Air pollution hinders children's brains and affects their health in ways more than we thought," said Maria Neira, director of public health and environmental affairs. # 39; WHO. . According to the study, air pollution is one of the biggest threats to children 's health. Around the world, 1 in 10 children under 5 die from severe air pollution.

Highly Vulnerable

One of the reasons young children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution is that they breathe faster than adults. so take more pollutants, according to the report. Children are also smaller and live closer to the ground. Here, some substances are the most concentrated. The substances are also very harmful because their brain and their body are still developing.

According to the WHO, children exposed to severe forms of air pollution are at greater risk of contracting chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease later in life. Air pollution can also cause asthma and cancer in the child.

Global Approach

The report will be presented tomorrow at the start of the first World Conference on Air Pollution and Health, organized this week by WHO in Geneva. The organization calls on all countries to act. Countries are meeting to conclude new agreements on the global approach to air pollution.

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