Pollution and Health

Pollution has been one of the world´s largest environmental risk factors for disease and premature deaths. For instance, in 2019, the Lancet Commission on pollution and health revealed that pollution has been responsible for about 9 million deaths per year which corresponds to one in six deaths. Furthermore, the effects of pollution on health are found to be much greater than the effects of other social issues like war, HIV, terrorism, etc. Most of these pollution risks have been from the unintended consequences of industrialization and urbanization.

Pollution has been found to be the most severe in low and middle-income countries as compared to high-income countries and despite the increasing efforts by international organizations, committed groups, governments and civil societies, little real progress has been identified in general. As such, urgent attention has risen to control and prevent pollution - related diseases, with an emphasis on hazardous chemical pollution.

There is a high linkage between pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss and thus to successfully control these linked threats, there is a need for global support characterized by research and science to inform interventions. Another reason why global effort is necessary is because the effects of pollution transcend local boundaries and demand a global response.
Examples of pollution include contamination of air by particulate matter, freshwater pollution which includes contamination of oceans by mercury, nitrogen, phosphorus, plastic, petroleum waste, poisoning of the land by mercury, lead, pesticides, electronic waste, radioactive waste, and other industrial chemicals.

Pollution with its effects is increasing as African countries economically develop and are becoming industrialized. Household air and water pollution remains the main cause of pollution-related disease and death.

Threat of Chemical Pollution

The use of chemicals is increasing and being widely disseminated in the global environment. The rate at which global production of chemicals is increasing is high of about 3.5 %per year and is estimated to double by 2030. With the large amount of chemicals produced for commerce, only a small fraction of these have been adequately tested for safety.

Reference

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jid.1836

Below is a list of recommendations given by the Lancet Commission on pollution and health for actions against pollution.

• Prioritize pollution prevention and health protection nationally and internationally.
• Mobilize, increase, and focus funding and international technical support for pollution control
• Establish systems to monitor and control pollution.
• Monitor water, sanitation, and hygiene.
• Build multi-sectoral partnerships for pollution control.
• Invest in research on pollution and pollution control.
• Highlight pollution control in the SDGs.
• Track awareness of pollution and health