Janet Ogundepo
A comprehensive analysis of air quality and health impact data for countries worldwide in 2021 by the State of Global Air, published in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund, reports that air pollution is now the second leading global risk factor for premature death.
The fifth edition of the report, released by the Health Effects Institute, further revealed that air pollution caused 8.1 million deaths worldwide in 2021, leaving millions of people with debilitating chronic diseases.
It further found out that children, especially those under the age of five are vulnerable to air pollution, and that it was responsible for over 700,000 child deaths in 2021.
The SoGA report also found that of the total deaths, non-communicable diseases including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease account for nearly 90 per cent of the disease burden.
According to the World Health Organisation, air pollution is the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that changes the natural characteristics of the atmosphere and affects human health.
Air pollution deprives humans of access to clean air, which is fundamental to human health.
Common sources of air pollution are motor vehicles, household combustion materials, industrial facilities and forest fires.
The WHO also states that cardiovascular diseases, such as ischaemic heart disease and stroke, are the leading cause of death globally.
It stated that ischaemic heart disease was responsible for 16 per cent of the world’s total deaths, with stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease being the second and third leading causes of death.
However, WHO’s 2019 data on the top causes of death per 100,000 population in Nigeria lists neonatal conditions as the top cause of death in the country.
It further listed lower respiratory conditions, diarrhoeal diseases, tuberculosis, malaria and ischaemic heart disease as second, third, fourth and fifth causes of death.
The SoGA report estimates the concentration of outdoor fine-particulate matter, PM2.5, with combined data from the air quality monitors in urban and rural areas, satellite observations, global chemical transport models and combines it with the number of people living within that area and the PM2.5 concentration they are exposed to.
Nigeria’s exposure mean to PM2.5 in 2019 was 51.7 and was 56.5 in 2020. A check of all the exposure means from 1990 to 2010 showed that 2015 had the highest exposure mean with 77.1 PM2.5.
This implies that in 2015, Nigeria’s outdoor air pollution rate was high.
Meanwhile, the WHO’s 2015 recommended annual air quality guideline level for PM2.5 was set at five, with a maximum of 15 on only three to four days per year.
Furthermore, the report found that pollutants like outdoor fine particulate matter, which comes from burning fossil fuels and biomass in sectors like transportation, residential homes, wildfires, and more, caused more than 90 per cent of global air pollution deaths and were found to be the “most consistent and accurate predictor of poor health outcomes around the world.”
Other pollutants like household air pollution, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide, which can be found in traffic exhaust, also contribute to the global deterioration of human health.
Commenting on the report, the President of the Health Effects Institute, Dr Elena Craft stated that air pollution has enormous health implications.
“We know that improving air quality and global public health is practical and achievable,” she said.
The report further stated, “In addition to affecting people’s health, pollutants like PM2.5 add to greenhouse gases that are warming the planet. As the earth warms, regions with high levels of Nitrogen dioxide will experience great levels of ozone, which can result in greater health effects.”
HEI’s Head of Global Health, Dr Pallavi Pant, further said that the new report was a reminder of the significant impacts air pollution has on human health.
She noted that young children, older populations and low- and middle-income countries bore most of the burden of air pollution.
Pant added, “This points sharply at an opportunity for cities and countries to consider air quality and air pollution as high-risk factors when developing health policies and other noncommunicable disease prevention and control programmes.”
The SoGA report however noted that aside from the figures, there has been better awareness about the harms of being exposed to household air pollution.
It also revealed that there has been a 53 per cent decrease in the death rate of children under five since 2000 due to increased access to clean energy for cooking.
The report emphasised that regions experiencing the highest levels of air pollution have begun to address the issue by installing air pollution monitoring networks and implementing stricter air quality policies.
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