Pollution and Health NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 2014

The Global Picture of Death from Pollution

!  The following chart shows the number of deaths from pollution in 2012. The diseases caused by pollution are indicated in each bar

!  Pollutants cause additional amounts of disease—the chart below shows incremental, additional deaths from pollutants

!  There are different pathways for pollutants impacting the body—air, soil, water, other

!  Children are much more significantly impacted than adults

Pollution Deaths Globally—2012

Deaths Attributable to Pollution by Pathway

Source: WHO and GAHP databases *1 ALRI: Acute lower respiratory disease *2 COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease *3 IHD: Ischemic heart disease

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1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Ambient air pollution Household air pollution

Contaminated sites Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Total Pollution

Mill

ions

Diarrhea

IHD*3

Stroke

COPD*2

Lung cancer

ALRI*1

A Comparison of Death Globally Versus Other Diseases

!  The next chart compares global death rates for pollution against other key diseases

!  Pollution is a much bigger problem than HIV, malaria, or TB

!  One in seven deaths in LMICs are caused by pollution

Pollution vs. Various Diseases

World – Millions of Deaths-2012

Source: WHO and GAHP databases

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

HIV Malaria Tuberculosis Cancer Total Pollution

Mill

ions

High Income Countries

Low/Middle-Income Countries

Includes death from all cancers! not only pollution related cancers!

Country by Country Analysis

!  Death from pollution can also be analyzed for each country, using the same databases

!  Three countries shown as examples

!  Similar results as the global analysis

BRAZIL

Deaths Attributable to Pollution Risk Factors

Source: WHO and GAHP databases *1 ALRI: Acute lower respiratory disease *2 COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease *3 IHD: Ischemic heart disease

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5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Ambient air pollution Household air pollution

Contaminated sites Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Total Pollution

Thou

sand

s

Diarrhea

IHD*3

Stroke

COPD*2

Lung cancer

ALRI*1

BRAZIL

Pollution vs. Various Diseases

Source: WHO and GAHP databases *1 ALRI: Acute lower respiratory disease *2 COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease *3 IHD: Ischemic heart disease

-

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

HIV Malaria Tuberculosis Pollution Risk Factors

Thou

sand

s

INDIA

Deaths Attributable to Pollution Risk Factors

Source: WHO and GAHP databases *1 ALRI: Acute lower respiratory disease *2 COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease *3 IHD: Ischemic heart disease

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Ambient air pollution Household air pollution

Contaminated sites Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Total Pollution

Mill

ions

Diarrhea

IHD*3

Stroke

COPD*2

Lung cancer

ALRI*1

INDIA

Pollution vs. Various Diseases

Source: WHO and GAHP databases *1 ALRI: Acute lower respiratory disease *2 COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease *3 IHD: Ischemic heart disease

-

1

1

2

2

3

HIV Malaria Tuberculosis Cancer Pollution Risk Factors

Mill

ions

PHILIPPINES

Deaths Attributable to Pollution Risk Factors

Source: WHO and GAHP databases *1 ALRI: Acute lower respiratory disease *2 COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease *3 IHD: Ischemic heart disease

-

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Ambient air pollution Household air pollution

Contaminated sites Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Total Pollution

Thou

sand

s

Diarrhea

IHD*3

Stroke

COPD*2

Lung cancer

ALRI*1

PHILIPPINES

Pollution vs. Various Diseases

Source: WHO and GAHP databases *1 ALRI: Acute lower respiratory disease *2 COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease *3 IHD: Ischemic heart disease

-

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

HIV Malaria Tuberculosis Cancer Pollution Risk Factors

Thou

sand

s

Why Does GAHP Exist?

Pollution is the single largest cause of death in the developing world.

GAHP Members and Observers

!  LMICs: - Mexico - Ghana -  Indonesia -  Cameroon - Madagascar

-  Peru -  Senegal -  Chile -  Uruguay -  Tajikistan

-  Nigeria - Mali -  Philippines -  Togo - Others joining

rapidly !  Agencies:

World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Commission, IADB, UNEP, UNDP, UNIDO, GIZ, Columbia University, Blacksmith Institute, Mt. Sinai School of Public Health, US EPA, WHO, others…

GAHP Principles

!  Focus on pollution and health

!  Focus on solutions—implementing projects that solve problems and save lives

!  Driven by country demand

!  Coordinate solutions between members

!  Raise awareness of pollution globally

An Under-recognized Health Problem

!  Health focus on traditional medical issues, infections disease

!  Lack of credible data on many aspects of pollution

!  Misconception of the cost of solutions

!  Fragmentation of the environmental agenda - Urban air, sanitation, indoor air, chemicals, etc. - Pollution has been left behind as a key issue

!  Resulting in a lack of resources, technical capacity and demand from countries

Solutions

!  Are doable: - Pollution barely a

problem in OECD - Some LMICs show

good results for some pollution problems

!  Solving pollution drives economic growth rather than impeding it

!  Deserves to become a global priority

Prioritize Pollution as a Global Priority

!  Integrate pollution in development strategies— domestic and donor based

!  Focus on implementation of solutions

!  Partnership in each country with Ministries of Health and Finance, not just Environment

!  Enable a Larger Platform, join GAHP

Ideas

References

1: Air pollutions estimates for 2012. Data for high income countries and Low and middle income countries LMIC. Available at http://www.who.int/phe/health_topics/outdoorair/databases/en/

2: Contaminate sites data extrapolated from GAHP database

3: WHO 2012 http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/gbd_poor_water/en/

4: WHO. HIV deaths per coutry 2012. http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.623

5: WHO. Malaria deaths 2012. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/

6. WHO. Number of deaths due to tuberculosis, excluding HIV. 2012. Available at http://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.main.57016?lang=en

7: WHO. Cancer deaths 2012. http://www.who.int/cancer/en/

World Data