Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

WHO Reports Pollution Is a Major Cause of Death in Young Children

  • 03/22/17

Washington, D.C. —WHO’s new study finds that unhealthy environments are responsible for up to 25 percent of deaths in children younger than age 5. A March 2017 report lists outdoor and indoor environmental risks that lead to premature death in approximately 1.7 million children worldwide annually. This report is the second edition of Inheriting a Sustainable World? Atlas on Children’s Health and the Environment, available at www.who.int/ceh/publications/inheriting-a-sustainable-world/en.

The main message emerging from this new, comprehensive global assessment is that, to a significant degree, premature death and disease can be prevented through healthier environments.

A companion report, Don’t Pollute my Future! The Impact of the Environment on Children’s Health, is available at www.who.int/ceh/publications/don-t-pollute-my-future/en. The report provides a comprehensive overview of air, water and environmental hazards that affect children’s health by contributing to such problems as respiratory infections and asthma, as well as increasing their lifelong risks of diseases. WHO finds most of these environmental risks are preventable with proper interventions.

WHO notes the most important environmental risks related to respiratory infections are household air pollution from exposure to smoke from cookstoves, ambient air pollution, and secondhand tobacco smoke. Children particularly are vulnerable to air pollution, hazardous chemicals and climate change, as well as inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene. EPA works to ensure a safe, healthy and protective environment for all children to grow and develop normally and healthily; read more at www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/health-energy-efficiency-and-climate-change and www.epa.gov/children.

Featured

  • Photo credit - Chuck Coates

    Florida District Modernizes Central Energy Plants at Two High Schools

    Flagler Schools, a public school district in Flagler County, Fla., recently partnered with Matern Professional Engineering to modernize the central energy plants at two of its high schools, according to a news release. The project is part of a larger, district-wide effort to reduce energy costs and operational expenses.

  • Academy of Classical Education Breaks Ground in Louisiana

    Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) recently announced the groundbreaking of a new public charter school in Covington, La., according to a news release. The Academy of Classical Education at Covington will enroll students in grades K–8 and is scheduled for completion in August 2026, just in time for the new school year.

  • USC Launches Major AI Initiative After $200M Gift

    The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif., recently announced that it has launched a “transformational” new AI initiative thanks to a $200M gift, according to a news release. The project will leverage AI toward breakthroughs and innovations in subjects like the health sciences, business, security, and the arts.

  • Rhode Island Boarding School Completes Student Dorm Renovations

    St. George’s School in Middletown, R.I., recently announced the completion of a $26-million renovation project on Arden-Diman-Eccles Dormitory, according to a news release. The school partnered with Voith & Mactavish Architects (VMA) on the new space, which places a new focus on collaborative community spaces open to both boarding students and day students.