NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2019 Pollution and Health Metrics: Global, Regional and Country Analysis report from the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) updates findings from The Lancet Commission on pollution and health, and provides a ranking of pollution deaths on a global, regional and country level.
Pollution remains the world’s largest environmental threat to human health, responsible in 2017 for 15% of all deaths globally, and 275 million Disability-Adjusted Life Years.
"We're facing serious risks from pollution and those risks are exacerbated by climate change. The U.S. has historically been the gold standard in tackling pollution, and today we are sadly not doing enough and the fact that we're going backward is unconscionable. This report reminds us that climate change isn’t just about faraway countries or forest fires and floods – it’s about our health and the health of our kids – here and now,” says Gina McCarthy, former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator.
The top ten countries with the most pollution deaths include both the world's largest and wealthiest nations, and some of its poorer ones. India and China lead in the number of pollution deaths, with about 2.3 million and 1.8 million deaths respectively. The United States, the world's third most populous country with 325 million people, makes the top ten list with 197,000 pollution-related deaths, while ranking 132nd in the number of deaths per 100,000 people.
“In order to tackle pollution, we must prioritize it as an issue that affects us all, integrating it into health planning, and increasing funding to allow more research into pollution, such as monitoring pollution and its effects, and developing ways to control pollution. Pollution prevention can be highly cost-effective – helping to improve health and reduce climate impacts, while boosting economies,” says Richard Fuller, Chair of the GAHP Board of Directors.
Read the report, see regional country rankings:
About GAHP:
The Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) is a collaborative body made up of more than 60 members and dozens of observers that advocate for resources and solutions to pollution problems. GAHP was formed because international and national level actors/ agencies recognize that a collaborative, multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral approach is necessary and critical to deal with the global pollution crisis and resulting health and economic impacts.
