Nearly one in four of total annual global deaths are related to the environment, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 15.
The report stated that 12.6 million deaths annually are consequences of living or working in an unhealthy environment.
According to the WHO, environmental risk factors like air, water and soil pollution, chemical exposure, climate change, and ultraviolet radiation, contribute to more than 100 diseases and injuries.
Non-communicable illnesses—like heart disease and cancer—related to exposure to pollution, are to blame for 8.2 million deaths worldwide every year—almost two thirds of the total deaths.
The eastern hemisphere has seen most of the environmental-related deaths, especially in Asia and Africa. The report showed that there are 3.8 million deaths annually in Southeast Asia, followed by 3.5 million in the Western Pacific Region, and 2.2 million in Africa. The European region reported 1.4 million environmental-related deaths annually, and 854,000 in the Eastern Mediterranean.
When it comes to the Americas, the WHO estimated the lowest impact, with 847,000 deaths annually.
Young children under five and the older people ages 50 to 75 are the most affected.
“A healthy environment underpins a healthy population,” said WHO Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan.
“If countries do not take actions to make environments where people live and work healthy, millions will continue to become ill and die too young,” she added.
The WHO said in the report that during the World Health Assembly in May, it will propose a roadmap to increase the global response by the health sector to reduce the effects of air pollution.
Friends Read Free