1 in 5 infant deaths in Europe and Central Asia linked to air pollution - UNICEF

GENEVA, 6 September 2024 – More than 5,480 infants in 23 countries and territories across Europe and Central Asia died from causes linked to air pollution in 2021, according to a new policy brief published today by UNICEF. Deaths linked to air pollution across the region accounted for 1 in 5 of all deaths of children under one.

Breathless beginnings: policies to protect children from air pollution in Europe and Central Asia notes that in major cities across Europe and Central Asia, air pollution regularly exceeds levels considered safe by WHO, making it the leading environmental health risk for children across the region.

“Illness and deaths caused by air pollution are preventable. Yet, every year children in Europe and Central Asia are dying or suffering long-term health consequences from breathing polluted air.” said Maria Osbeck, Regional Adviser Sustainability and Climate, UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Regional Office.

“Policy choices – including those that reduce pollutants and improve air quality where children live, play and learn – can save lives and prevent a drain on public services due to poor health from childhood to adulthood.”

The policy brief notes that babies and young children are the most at risk of death and ill health. Early and frequent exposure to air pollution – including inside the womb – leads to a reduction and restructuring of their lungs and increases the risk of pneumonia, upper respiratory tract infections, ear infections, asthma, allergies and eczema. Breathing polluted air can cause inflammation in the brain, hindering growth and affecting cognitive development.

Air pollution (PM2.5 and PM10) in Europe and Central Asia is caused mainly by residential, commercial and institutional practices that rely on fossil fuels, with the use of coal particularly harmful for children’s health.

UNICEF calls on governments and institutions in countries across the region to devote greater attention and resources to prevent worsening air pollution, support energy efficiency, access to clean energy, support improved air quality and protect children from exposure. 

These recommendations include: ensuring air pollution and its health impacts on children are considered in National Determined Contributions (NDC), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), national and local Air Quality Plans, and national Health Plans; establishing pollution-free zones near schools, kindergartens, and health facilities;  setting up and maintaining air quality alert systems near residential areas, playgrounds, health facilities, kindergartens and schools, and reporting air quality information to the public.

#####

Notes to editors

The regional mortality estimates are based on an analysis of 2021 Global Burden of Disease data, the latest available from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. Health impact estimates are not intended to be predictors of disease in individuals; rather they are intended as an objective assessment of health impacts on a population basis.

According to the estimates, 63 children under the age of one died in Romania in 2021 from air pollution-related causes.

Particulate matter (PM) is everything in the air that is not a gas and is used as a measure of air pollution:

• PM10 is roughly one-seventh the diameter of a human hair. It consists of sulfate, nitrates, ammonia, sodium chloride, and black carbon; it may also include concentrations of natural windblown dust. PM10 is harmful to health because it can block and inflame nasal and bronchial passages, causing a variety of respiratory-related conditions that lead to illness or death. PM10 is a major component of indoor air pollution and forest fires.
• PM2.5 is often considered even more dangerous to human health because of its ultrafine size. Not only can PM2.5 penetrate deep inside the lungs, but it can also enter the bloodstream, causing a variety of health problems including heart disease and other cardiovascular complications. PM2.5 is often the result of fossil fuel combustion from vehicle exhaust, industrial production and power plants, as well as from natural sources such as windblown dust and volcanic activity. PM2.5 pose an especially high risk because they can more easily enter the blood stream and travel through the body to the brain, causing neuro-inflammation by damaging the blood brain barrier – which is a thin, delicate membrane that protects the brain from toxic substances.