全球约有93%15岁以下儿童（即18亿儿童）每天呼吸遭受严重污染的空气，使他们的健康和发展面临严峻风险。可悲的是，他们当中有许多人因此而死亡：据世界卫生组织（世卫组织）估计，2016年，有60万名儿童死于因污染空气引起的急性下呼吸道感染。
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空气污染危害着我们的儿童
世卫组织题为《空气污染与儿童健康：清洁空气是良策》的新报告检查了室外环境和家庭空气污染对世界儿童健康的严重影响，特别是在低收入和中等收入国家。该报告于世卫组织首次全球空气污染与健康大会召开前夕发布。
报告阐明，如果孕妇暴露于受污染的空气，更可能过早分娩，并产下低出生体重的瘦小婴儿。空气污染还会影响神经发育和认知能力，并可能引发哮喘和儿童期癌症。暴露于高水平空气污染的儿童在以后生命中罹患心血管病等慢性疾病的风险可能更高。
谭德塞博士
世界卫生组织总干事
“受污染的空气正在毒害数百万儿童并毁掉他们的生命。这是不可原谅的。每个儿童都应当能够呼吸清洁的空气，这样他们才能成长并充分发挥其潜力。”
儿童特别容易遭受空气污染影响的一个原因是，他们的呼吸速度比成人快，因此会吸收更多的污染物。此外，大脑和身体尚处于发育中的儿童的生活空间更接近地面，而一些污染物在此的浓度最高。
在经常使用污染性燃料和技术烹饪、取暖和照明的家庭中，新生儿和幼儿也更容易受到家庭空气污染的影响。
Maria Neira博士
世卫组织公共卫生、健康问题的环境和社会决定因素司司长
“空气污染正在阻碍儿童大脑的正常发育，并以超出我们想象的更多方式影响其健康。而其实，我们有许多能减少危险污染物排放的简单方法。世卫组织正在支持实施有益于健康的政策措施，如加速转向清洁的烹饪和取暖燃料和技术，鼓励使用更清洁的交通工具，促进节省能源的住房和城市规划。我们正在为低排放发电，更加清洁安全的工业技术和更好的城市废物管理铺垫道路。”
主要调查结果
空气污染影响神经发育，导致认知测试结果偏低，对心理和运动发育具有负面影响。
即使暴露水平较低，空气污染也会损害儿童的肺功能。
全球15岁以下儿童93%暴露于超出世卫组织空气质量指南的环境细颗粒物（PM2.5）浓度，他们当中包括6.3亿5岁以下儿童和18亿15岁以下儿童。
在世界各地低收入和中等收入国家，98%5岁以下儿童暴露于超出世卫组织空气质量指南的PM2.5浓度。相比之下，在高收入国家，52%5岁以下儿童的暴露量高于世卫组织空气质量指南。
世界40%以上人口（其中包括10亿15岁以下儿童）暴露于主要因使用污染性技术和燃料烹饪而造成的高水平家庭空气污染。
2016年，大约60万例15岁以下儿童死亡可归因于环境和家庭空气污染的共同影响。
在低收入和中等收入国家，50%以上5岁以下儿童的急性下呼吸道感染病例系由源自烹饪的家庭空气污染以及环境（外部）空气污染所导致。
空气污染是儿童健康的主要威胁之一，五岁以下儿童死亡的近十分之一系由空气污染所致。
世卫组织首次全球空气污染与健康大会于10月30日星期二在日内瓦开幕。这次会议将使世界各国领导人；卫生部、能源部和环境部部长；市长；政府间组织负责人；科学家以及其他方面代表有机会针对这一严重健康威胁做出行动承诺，这种威胁每年缩短约700万人的生命。
具体行动应包括：
卫生部门采取行动，向卫生专业人员提供信息、教育和资源，同时积极参与跨部门政策制定。
实施减少空气污染的政策：所有国家都应努力满足世卫组织全球空气质量指南的标准，以加强儿童的健康与安全。为实现这一目标，各国政府应采取措施，减少全球能源结构中对化石燃料的过度依赖，投资提高能源效率，并促进对可再生能源的利用。更好的废物管理可以减少社区内燃烧的废物量，从而减少“社区空气污染”。专用于家庭烹饪、取暖和照明活动的清洁技术和燃料可以大大改善家庭和周围社区的空气质量。
采取措施尽量避免儿童暴露于受污染的空气，例如使学校和游乐场远离繁忙的道路、工厂和发电厂等主要空气污染源。
针对空气污染的“生命呼吸”运动：这是在世卫组织、联合国环境署和减少短期气候污染物的气候与清洁空气联盟之间建立的一个伙伴关系，旨在提高政府和个人对空气污染的认识并鼓励其采取行动。
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More than 90% of the world’s children breathe toxic air every day
Every day around 93% of the world’s children under the age of 15 years (1.8 billion children) breathe air that is so polluted it puts their health and development at serious risk. Tragically, many of them die: WHO estimates that in 2016, 600,000 children died from acute lower respiratory infections caused by polluted air.
A new WHO report on Air pollution and child health: Prescribing clean air examines the heavy toll of both ambient (outside) and household air pollution on the health of the world’s children, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The report is being launched on the eve of WHO’s first ever Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health.
It reveals that when pregnant women are exposed to polluted air, they are more likely to give birth prematurely, and have small, low birth-weight children. Air pollution also impacts neurodevelopment and cognitive ability and can trigger asthma, and childhood cancer. Children who have been exposed to high levels of air pollution may be at greater risk for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease later in life.
“Polluted air is poisoning millions of children and ruining their lives,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “This is inexcusable. Every child should be able to breathe clean air so they can grow and fulfil their full potential.”
One reason why children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution is that they breathe more rapidly than adults and so absorb more pollutants.
They also live closer to the ground, where some pollutants reach peak concentrations – at a time when their brains and bodies are still developing.
Newborns and young children are also more susceptible to household air pollution in homes that regularly use polluting fuels and technologies for cooking, heating and lighting
“Air Pollution is stunting our children’s brains, affecting their health in more ways than we suspected. But there are many straight-forward ways to reduce emissions of dangerous pollutants,” says Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health at WHO.
“WHO is supporting implementation of health-wise policy measures like accelerating the switch to clean cooking and heating fuels and technologies, promoting the use of cleaner transport, energy-efficient housing and urban planning. We are preparing the ground for low emission power generation, cleaner, safer industrial technologies and better municipal waste management, ” she added.
Key findings:
Air pollution affects neurodevelopment, leading to lower cognitive test outcomes, negatively affecting mental and motor development.
Air pollution is damaging children’s lung function, even at lower levels of exposures
Globally, 93% of the world’s children under 15 years of age are exposed to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels above WHO air quality guidelines, which include the 630 million of children under 5 years of age, and 1.8 billion of children under 15 years
In low- and middle-income countries around the world, 98% of all children under 5 are exposed to PM2.5 levels above WHO air quality guidelines. In comparison, in high-income countries, 52% of children under 5 are exposed to levels above WHO air quality guidelines.
More than 40% of the world’s population – which includes 1 billion children under 15 - is exposed to high levels of household air pollution from mainly cooking with polluting technologies and fuels.
About 600’000 deaths in children under 15 years of age were attributed to the joint effects of ambient and household air pollution in 2016.
Together, household air pollution from cooking and ambient (outside) air pollution cause more than 50% of acute lower respiratory infections in children under 5 years of age in low- and middle-income countries.
Air pollution is one of the leading threats to child health, accounting for almost 1 in 10 deaths in children under five years of age.
WHO’s First Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, which opens in Geneva on Tuesday 30 October will provide the opportunity for world leaders; ministers of health, energy, and environment; mayors; heads of intergovernmental organizations; scientists and others to commit to act against this serious health threat, which shortens the lives of around 7 million people each year.
Actions should include:
Action by the health sector to inform, educate, provide resources to health professionals, and engage in inter-sectoral policy making.
Implementation of policies to reduce air pollution: All countries should work towards meeting WHO global air quality guidelines to enhance the health and safety of children. To achieve this, governments should adopt such measures as reducing the over-dependence on fossil fuels in the global energy mix, investing in improvements in energy efficiency and facilitating the uptake of renewable energy sources. Better waste management can reduce the amount of waste that is burned within communities and thereby reducing ‘community air pollution’. The exclusive use of clean technologies and fuels for household cooking, heating and lighting activities can drastically improve the air quality within homes and in the surrounding community.
Steps to minimize children’s exposure to polluted air: Schools and playgrounds should be located away from major sources of air pollution like busy roads, factories and power plants.
BreatheLife air pollution campaign:BreatheLife is a partnership of WHO, UN Environment and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-lived Climate Pollutants that aims to increase awareness and action on air pollution by governments and individuals.
www.breathelife2030.org