Air pollution kills 600,000 children each year, according to the WHO

The World Health Organization warned Monday about 600,000 children under the age of 15 years to be exposed to toxic air, both inside and out.

Data from United Nations health agencies show that every day, 93% of children under 15, or 1.8 billion young people, including 630 million under five, are breathing dangerously with polluted air. .

This has tragic consequences: in 2016 alone, some 600,000 children died of acute lower respiratory tract infections caused by polluted air, according to the WHO report.

"The polluted air poisons millions of children and ruins their lives," said the head of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement.

"It is inexcusable.Every child should be able to breathe clean air to develop and flourish fully."

According to WHO data, more than nine out of ten people on the planet breathe a dangerously toxic air, causing about seven million premature deaths each year.

Air pollution is particularly dangerous for children and accounts for nearly one in ten deaths among children under five in the world, the report said.

The WHO study, which focused on the adverse health consequences of breathing children's outdoor air and indoor air pollution levels dangerous to health, focused on hazardous particles in the air. a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5).

These include toxins such as sulphate and black carbon, which pose the greatest health risks because they can penetrate deep into the lungs or the cardiovascular system.

The report found that children in poor countries were much more vulnerable, with 98% of children under 5 in low- and middle-income countries at levels of PM2.5 higher than the WHO recommendations for air quality.

This compares to 52% in high-income countries, said the WHO.

– Triggering asthma, cancer –

Together, household air pollution due to cooking and outdoor air pollution are responsible for more than half of the cases of acute respiratory tract infections. lower rates in young children in low- and middle-income countries, WHO said.

The report, published in anticipation of the first WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, revealed that when pregnant women are exposed to air pollution, they are more likely to give birth prematurely and to become pregnant. have low birth weight children.

It has been found that children are often more vulnerable to the impact of air pollution since they breathe faster than adults and thus absorb more pollutants at a time when their brains and their bodies are developing.

They also live closer to the ground, where a number of pollutants reach maximum levels, WHO added, noting that newborns and young children are also more exposed to air pollution in homes using polluting fuels for cooking, heating and lighting.

Air pollution can have an impact on the development and cognitive abilities of the child and can trigger asthma and cancer in the child, said WHO. .

Children who have been exposed to high levels of air pollution may also be more vulnerable to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease later in life, he added.

"Air pollution is delaying the development of our children's brains, affecting their health in more ways than we suspected," said Maria Neira, head of the public health and health department. 39, environment of WHO.

The UN Health Organization calls for an acceleration of the shift to clean cooking and heating fuels, as well as the promotion of cleaner transport, reduced emissions and better management of emissions. waste, among other measures.

"The world must reduce our excessive dependence on fossil fuels (fuel) and accelerate the shift to clean, renewable energy," Neira told reporters during a conference call.