I was very talkative as a child. Be it at school, or at home, I would just not stop. Even while walking on the streets, even as the cars go by emitting dark smoke, or even if there is a nasty dump yard overflowing on the way, I will not stop. My mother had to strictly ask me to shut my mouth. Not just because I was babbling utter nonsense according to her, but mostly because, there was just too much dust and smoke out there in the streets, and her daughter was in vain to the assault of any of that. I remember getting angry at being scolded as my flow of oration was disturbed.
A few days ago, I was reading an article about air pollution, where scientist have warned that particulate matters are moving from the lungs to placentas of pregnant women, which can be disastrous for the baby yet to be born. I suddenly remembered my angry cautious mother scolding me as a child.
WHO has come out with a report that has analysed scientific pieces of evidence that links exposure to air pollution to adverse health effects in children. It is intended to inform and motivate individual and collective action by health care professionals to prevent damage to children’s health from exposure to air pollution.
Children’s are the worst affected section of the population when it comes to air pollution. Healthy born babies instantly develop diseases like bronchitis within a few hours of their birth.
The draft comments, “Recent data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that air pollution has a vast and terrible impact on child health and survival. Globally, 93% of all children live in environments with air pollution levels above the WHO guidelines. More than one in every four deaths of children under 5 years is directly or indirectly related to environmental risks. Both AAP (Ambient Air Pollution) and household air pollution (HAP) contribute to respiratory tract infections that resulted in 543 000 deaths in children under 5 years in 2016
The draft is prepared to invite the Member States of UN and all interested for consultation on the draft. To read the report, visit www.who.int.