October 30, 2018.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has just released a disturbing report on the effects of pollution on children. This scourge causes the death of thousands of children every year around the world.
The latest WHO report concerning children’s health
The World Health Organization (WHO) has just published, on October 29, a report following the first world conference which was held in Geneva on the theme ” Air pollution and health “. And this time, organizers focused on the effects of pollution on children.
We already knew that pollution caused thousands of deaths every year in all countries and especially the most polluted. We now know that this scourge of industrialized societies causes the death of 600,000 children each year.
Premature births and respiratory infections
The link between pollution and the death of these many children is very easy to establish. Children, closer to the ground, are more susceptible to the effects of vehicle exhaust fumes. That’s not all: since they breathe at a faster rate than an adult, they assimilate many more fine particles harmful to respiratory health.
The report also emphasizes the effects of pollution on pregnant women who give birth to babies who are more often premature and at lower weight. In 2016, as many as 543,000 children under 5 and 52,000 children aged 5 to 15 died from acute respiratory infections.
Maylis Choné
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