More than one million deaths in 2019 linked to exposure to air pollution in Africa

Nearly the entire African continent faces severe health impacts from air pollution, with some countries experiencing some degree of pollution, according to a new HEI report. highest air in the world. Report, Air quality status and health effects in Africaprovides a comprehensive analysis of the major sources of air pollution and related health impacts on the continent, home to more than 1.2 billion people.

According to the report, air pollution is the second leading risk factor for death across Africa, where 5 of the 10 countries are most heavily polluted worldwide in terms of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5). . In 2019, air pollution contributed to an estimated 1.1 million deaths in Africa, with 63% related to exposure to household air pollution (HAP).

Infants and children under five are at particularly high risk of severe illness affect health from HAP. About 236,000 won Infant die within the first month of life from exposure to air pollution, with 80% of which due to HAP. In 2019, 14% of all deaths among children under the age of 5 across Africa were linked to air pollution. The effects on neonates and infants also have long-term consequences for overall health, including problems with lung development and increased susceptibility to Infectious Diseases such as lower respiratory tract infections in young children.

This report brings together data from the Global Burden of Disease project and from a recent global assessment of air pollution sources to discuss air pollution trends, origins and associated disease burdens across this important region, with a particular focus on Egypt, Ghana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and South Africa.

The report was made possible by the State of Global Air initiative, a collaboration between the Institute of Health Effects and the Institute’s Global Burden of Disease Project.

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