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

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • Harvard Announces Replacement Facility for Native American Program

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that construction will begin this spring on a new home for its Native American Program, according to university news. The 6,500-square-foot, all-electric building will stand three stories and serve as the central hub for the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP).

  • California K–12 District Finishes Renovations on Multi-Sport Stadium

    The Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) in Alameda, Calif., recently announced the completion of a renovation project on the Encinal Jr. & Sr. High School stadium, according to a news release. The district partnered with Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) and Bothman Construction on the facility, and funding came from Bond Measure B.