According to the new “State of Global Air” report, children under the age of five are particularly vulnerable to air pollution, which is, in fact, the second largest risk factor for death in the world for this age group, after malnutrition.
Among the 700,000 child deaths that occurred in 2021, 500,000 were linked to air pollution, caused by “indoor cooking with polluting fuels, mainly in Africa and Asia”.
Air pollution does not only affect children. It causes disabling chronic diseases for millions of people, weighing heavily on health systems, economies and societies.
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“Virtually everyone on the planet breathes harmful levels of air pollution every day, with considerable repercussions on health,” UNICEF said. “Globally, more than 90% of air pollution deaths are attributed to outdoor fine particulate air pollution, including ambient and household air pollution,” added the organization.
This form of pollution mainly comes from the combustion of fossil fuels and biomass in sectors such as transport, housing, coal-fired power plants, industrial activities and forest fires.
Although the mortality rate of children under five has fallen since 2000, UNICEF is calling for more to be done “to ensure that air pollution no longer tops the list of health risks that threaten the lives of millions of people.” people”.
