Bangladesh witnessed more than 2,35,000 deaths, including over 19,000 deaths of children under five, due to air pollution in 2021, according to the latest State of Global Air 2024 report.
The report, conducted by the Health Effects Institute in partnership with UNICEF, revealed that countries in South Asia, as well as East, West, Central, and Southern Africa, experience the highest burden of disease linked to air pollution, according to a UNICEF press release on Thursday.聽
Children under five years old are especially vulnerable, with health effects including premature birth, low birth weight, asthma, and lung diseases.
In several countries in Africa and Asia, including Bangladesh, more than 40 per cent of all deaths from lower-respiratory tract infections in children under five are attributed to air pollution, the report revealed.
In 2021, exposure to air pollution globally was linked to more than 7,00,000 deaths of children under five years old, making it the second-leading risk factor for death globally for this age group, after malnutrition.
A staggering 5,00,000 of these child deaths were linked to household air pollution due to cooking indoors with polluting fuels, mostly in Africa and Asia.聽
The report also highlighted that Bangladesh experiences significant ozone exposure, contributing to air pollution-related diseases.
In 2021, nearly 50 per cent of all ozone-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder deaths globally occurred in India, with 237,000 deaths, followed by China with 125,600 deaths and Bangladesh with 15,000 deaths.
