Page 36 - KMD 2022-23 EDITION

Health News

NINE MILLION DIE OF POLLUTION EACH YEAR

ine million people worldwide die The 9 million annual deaths from pollution dwarf
prematurely each year from pollution, the 100,000 deaths from “interpersonal violence,”
Nhaving been exposed to air, water, or soil which includes war, murder and terrorism, and are
contaminated with toxic substances. far higher than the 800,000 and 550,000 annual
deaths from HIV and malaria, respectively.
According to a study published in journal The
Lancet Planetary Health, one in six deaths (16 per Only smoking and second-hand smoke has a death
cent) is directly attributable to pollution, making it toll roughly on par with pollution, according to the
the number one environmental risk factor in terms study.
of disease and premature death.
‘Traditional pollution’ associated with less-
This is three times more than the number of developed places — such as sewage in waterways
deaths caused by AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria that festers dangerous disease or wood-burning
combined. stoves inside homes — used to contribute to more
deaths.
The study is a product of the collaboration of some
30 international researchers within the journal’s The study shows that those threats have not
“pollution and health” commission and attempts to gone away, but today the biggest risk is “modern
evaluate the global impact of all forms of pollution. pollution,” which includes outdoor air pollution,
This is the second edition of the report after its first occupational exposure and lead.
publication in 2017.
Countries with the biggest numbers of pollution-
In an update of a 2015 estimate on premature related deaths relative to their population are places
deaths caused by pollution, the study said that with growing economies where “modern” pollution
data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries is increasing and where “traditional” pollution still
and Risk Factors Study 2019 (GBD) showed that exists. That includes places like India, China, Nigeria
pollution “remains responsible for approximately and Pakistan.
nine million deaths per year.”
The Executive Director of the Global Alliance on
The Lancet study revealed that globally, air pollution Health and Pollution Rachael Kupka, said the study
- both ambient and household - was responsible is significant for finding that traditional pollution is
for 6.7 million deaths in 2019. Water pollution was declining while modern pollution is “skyrocketing.”
responsible for 1.4 million deaths and lead pollution She hopes that governments globally — as well as
caused 900,000 premature deaths. philanthropists — pay attention to the findings.

It found that more than 90 per cent of pollution
related deaths occurred in low and middle-income
countries.

“The unfortunate truth about this is that pollution
is bigger than most other public health problems
out there and kills more people,” said Richard
Fuller, who co-chairs The Lancet’s Commission on
Pollution and Health.

“These deaths are at a scale that people really don’t
understand and because of that there hasn’t been
that much attention to it”, he noted. Polluted water source /Photo Freepik

34 Kenya Medical Directory