PHA-Exchange> OVER 13 MILLION DEATHS EACH YEAR DUE TO PREVENTABLE ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES - UN REPORT

[Claudio]

From: "Vern Weitzel" <vern at coombs.anu.edu.au>

OVER 13 MILLION DEATHS EACH YEAR DUE TO PREVENTABLE ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES - 
UN REPORT
New York, Jun 16 2006 11:00AM
More than 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable 
environmental causes and
the lives of as many as 4 million children alone, mostly in developing 
countries, could be saved by
preventing such ecological risks, according to a new United Nations
<"http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/preventingdisease/en/index.html">report
released today, the most comprehensive yet on the issue.

“We have always known that the environment influences health very 
profoundly, but these estimates
are the best to date,” Acting UN World Health Organization
(<"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr32/en/index.html">WHO) 
Director-General
Anders Nordström said in issuing the study, which shows that as much as 24 
per cent of global
disease, and 33 per cent of that in children under five, is caused by 
environmental exposures that
can be averted.

The four main diseases influenced by poor environments are diarrhoea, lower 
respiratory infections,
various forms of unintentional injuries, and malaria. Preventive measures 
include safe household
water storage and better hygienic measures; cleaner and safer fuels; 
increased building safety,
better management of toxic substances in the home and workplace; and better 
water resource management.

“This will help us to demonstrate that wise investment to create a 
supportive environment can be a
successful strategy in improving health and achieving development that is 
sustainable,” Dr.
Nordström said of the report - ‘Preventing disease through healthy 
environments - towards an
estimate of the environmental burden of disease.’

By focusing on the environmental causes of disease, and how various diseases 
are influenced by
environmental factors, the analysis breaks new ground, reflecting how much 
death, illness and
disability could be realistically avoided every year as a result of better 
environmental management.

Nearly one third of death and disease in the least developed regions is due 
to environmental causes.
Over 40 per cent of malaria deaths and an estimated 94 per cent of those 
from diarrhoeal diseases,
two of the world’s biggest childhood killers, could be prevented through 
better environmental
management.

“For the first time, this new report shows how specific diseases and 
injuries are influenced by
environmental risks and by how much,” the Director of WHO’s Department for 
Public Health and
Environment, Maria Neira said.

“It also shows very clearly the gains that would accrue both to public 
health and to the general
environment by a series of straightforward, coordinated investments. We call 
on ministries of
health, environment and other partners to work together to ensure that these 
environmental and
public health gains become a reality.”

The research, involving systematic review of literature as well as surveys 
of over 100 experts
worldwide, identifies specific diseases affected by well-known environmental 
hazards - and by how
much. “In effect, we now have a 'hit list' for problems we need to tackle 
most urgently in terms of
health and the environment," Dr. Neira said.

Diseases with the largest number of deaths annually from such causes: 2.6 
million from
cardiovascular diseases; 1.7 million deaths from diarrhoeal illness; 1.5 
million from lower
respiratory infections; 1.4 million from cancers; 1.3 million from chronic 
obstructive pulmonary
disease; 470,000 from traffic crashes; and 400,000 from unintentional 
injuries.