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Environmental pollution is the leading cause of death in the world today.
It kills an estimated nine million premature deaths per year, 15 times more than guns and three times more than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.
In 2015, #pollution was responsible for 3 times as many deaths as AIDS, TB, + malaria combined #pollutioncommission https://t.co/xO3MBM9j97 pic.twitter.com/aGvCLyhn5v
— The Lancet (@TheLancet) October 20, 2017
Air pollution is the biggest contributor as it’s linked to 6.5 million of those deaths, but water pollution (1.8 million deaths) and workplace-related pollution (0.8 million deaths) are also major risks.
Pollution doesn’t kill people outright, but it leads to non-communicable diseases like heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Furthermore, almost all of these deaths (92%) occur in low and middle income countries, with India leading the way at 2.5 million pollution related deaths per year.
The data comes from a two-year project called the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health, which involved more than 40 international health and environmental authors.
“Pollution is much more than an environmental challenge – it is a profound and pervasive threat that affects many aspects of human health and wellbeing,” says Commission co-lead, Professor Philip Landrigan.
“Despite its far-reaching effects on health, the economy and the environment, pollution has been neglected in the international assistance and the global health agendas, and some control strategies have been deeply underfunded.”
Landrigan added that the goal of the project is to raise global awareness about pollution and mobilize the political will needed to tackle it.
World leaders will need to prioritize the issue and act with urgency if they want to reduce the massive health burden of this global threat.
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