AIR POLLUTION, THE INVISIBLE KILLER

As many as 93 per cent of children under the age of 15 — a full 1.8 billion youngsters, including 630 million under the age of ive — breathe dangerously polluted air, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and this is hugely worrisome news. It’s as good as saying that almost all children on the planet are affected by foul air.

With exposure to toxic air killing some 600,000 children under the age of 15 each year, silence cannot be an answer to the challenge posed by the silent killer.

Polluted air is poisoning millions of children and ruining their lives, as WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, points out. This is absolutely inexcusable. Every child should be able to breathe clean air so they can grow and fulil their full potential.

The situation should be considered serious especially because when pregnant women are exposed to polluted air, they are more likely to give birth prematurely, and have small, low birth-weight children.

Air pollution also impacts neurodevelopment and cognitive ability and can trigger asthma, and childhood cancer. Children who have been exposed to high levels of air pollution may be at greater risk for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease later in life.

Children are particularly vulnerable because they breathe more rapidly than adults and so absorb more pollutants.

It should, nevertheless, be acknowledged that some countries are taking a serious note of the issue and initiating corrective measures.

Norway’s capital Oslo, for example, is paving a fossil-free, electriied path in its push towards improving air quality. The city has implemented methods of recycling waste into heat and electricity and offers cyclists precedence over private cars.

China is moving in the right direction by ordering 1.18 million residential households in 11 cities located in three central provinces to switch to natural gas heating this winter as part of the anti-air pollution campaign.

World leaders should commit to act against this serious health threat. As experts point out, all countries should work towards meeting WHO global air quality guidelines to enhance the health and safety of children.

Governments should adopt measures such as reducing the overdependence on fossil fuels in the global energy mix, investing in improvements in energy eficiency and facilitating the uptake of renewable energy sources.

Exclusive use of clean technologies and fuels for household cooking, heating and lighting activities can certainly improve the air quality within homes and in the surrounding community. ■■■