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

  • Chicago District Completes Construction on New Elementary School

    North Chicago School District 187 in North Chicago, Ill., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Forrestal Elementary School, according to a news release. The new school marks a major investment in military-connected students and families at Naval Station Great Lakes.

  • Arizona District Breaks Ground on Community Training, Learning Center

    The Tolleson Union High School District (TUHSD) in Tolleson, Ariz., recently broke ground on a new Training & Learning Center (TLC) for both district professionals and the community at large, according to a news release. The 90,000-square-foot facility has an estimated completion date of spring 2027.

  • abstract illustration of school gym

    How the Gymnasium Can Serve as a Model for Learning Space Design

    Multipurpose gyms work because flexibility was built into the brief from the start, not retrofitted later. The same logic applies to academic spaces.

  • College of the Desert Hits Construction Milestone on New Campus

    College of the Desert recently announced that the construction of its new Palm Springs Campus in Palm Springs, Calif., recently reached a major construction milestone, according to a news release. The college is partnering with general contractor C.W. Driver Companies, which recently “topped out” the facility by placing the final beam in its structure.