Unicef Pakistan for urgent, pragmatic efforts to reduce air pollution, protect children’s health

ISLAMABAD: Unicef Pakistan has called for urgent and pragmatic efforts to reduce air pollution and protect children’s health, as over 11 million children under five years of age are exposed to this smog in the worst-affected districts in Punjab.

UNICEF has expressed grave concern about the well-being of young children who are forced to breathe polluted, toxic air in smog-affected districts across Punjab province, Unicef Representative in Pakistan Abdullah Fadil said in a statement issued in Islamabad on Monday.

He said that air pollution levels broke all records in Lahore and Multan in last week with air pollution clocking in at over 100 times the World Health Organization (WHO)’s air quality guidelines. Unicef head said hundreds have been hospitalised including dozens of children, and the air pollution is so severe it is now visible from space.

“Prior to these record-breaking levels of air pollution, about 12 per cent of deaths in children under five in Pakistan were due to air pollution,” Fadil added.

The impact of this year’s extraordinary smog will take time to assess but we know that doubling and tripling the amount of pollution in the air will have devastating effects, particularly on children and pregnant women.

The Unicef representative said, “Young children are most affected by air pollution because they have smaller lungs and lack the immunities that come with age. They also breathe twice as fast as adults and take in more air, often through the mouth, along with pollutants, leading to life-threatening respiratory diseases.”

The statement pointed out that potential impact of air pollutants can be extreme on babies’ developing lungs and brains. Breathing in particulate air pollution can damage brain tissue and undermine cognitive development – with lifelong implications and setbacks. When pregnant women are exposed to polluted air, they are more likely to give birth prematurely, face respiratory issues, and their babies may have a low birth weight.

“In addition, schools in smog-affected areas have been closed until mid-November to protect children from the harmful effects of the polluted air. As a result, the learning of almost 16 million children in Punjab has been disrupted. Pakistan, already in the grips of an education emergency with 26.2 million children out of school, cannot afford more learning losses.

“Every child has the right to clean air. Children’s health and right to an education must be protected. Unicef calls on the Government of Pakistan to fulfil these rights for every child.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024