More than 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable environmental causes and the lives of as many as preventing such ecological risks could save 4 million children alone, mostly in developing countries, according to a new United Nations report released, the most comprehensive yet on the issue.
“We have always known that the environment influences health very profoundly, but these estimates are the best to date,” Acting UN World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Anders Nordström said in issuing the study, which shows that as much as 24 per cent of global disease, and 33 per cent of that in children under five, is caused by environmental exposures that can be averted.
The four main diseases influenced by poor environments are diarrhoea, lower respiratory infections, various forms of unintentional injuries, and malaria.
Preventive measures include safe household water storage and better hygienic measures; cleaner and safer fuels; increased building safety, better management of toxic substances in the home and workplace; and better water resource management.
“This will help us to demonstrate that wise investment to create a supportive environment can be a successful strategy in improving health and achieving development that is sustainable,” Dr. Nordström said of the report – 'Preventing disease through healthy environments – towards an estimate of the environmental burden of disease.'
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