Our quality of air is wanting

World Health Organisation Assistant Director General, Dr Flavia Bustreo. Nine out of ten people breathe poor quality air, World Health Organisation (WHO) has said in a new report. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

Nine out of ten people breathe poor quality air, World Health Organisation (WHO) has said in a new report.

The report released early in the month states that research found most of the world population lives in areas where air quality levels are below the recommended WHO levels.

WHO Assistant Director General, Dr Flavia Bustreo said: “The new WHO model shows countries where air pollution danger spots are and provides a baseline for monitoring progress in combating it.”

This is the first most detailed outdoor air pollution-related health data per country.

WHO notes that the model is based on data derived from satellite measurements, air transport models and ground station monitors for more than 3,000 locations, both rural and urban. It was developed by WHO in collaboration with the University of Bath, United Kingdom.

In this new database, Kenya is ranked as a lower-middle income economy. It had an annual mean which is eight points above the recommended 25 for particulate matter less than ten micrometres and seven above the recommended for particulate matter of 2.5 micrometres or less.

According to WHO three million deaths occur yearly due to exposure to outdoor air pollution. About one in ten people worldwide die from causes linked to indoor and outdoor pollution.

At the same time nine out of ten deaths related to air pollution occur in middle and low income countries even as it was observed that this type of pollution increases the risk of acute respiratory infections.

“Air pollution continues take a toll on the health of the most vulnerable populations – women, children and older adults. For people to be healthy, they must breathe clean air from their first breath to their last,” Dr Bustreo said.

Some of the major contributors to poor air quality include, exhaust fumes from modes of transport, household fuel, coal-powered industries while natural causes of pollution include dust storms especially in desert areas. In 2015, the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) said traffic emissions are the leading cause of air pollution in major cities in Kenya and this is exacerbated by importation of second hand vehicles.

UNEP also noted that Kenya’s ability to monitor air emissions is limited and often there are just ad hoc reactive monitoring. This is made worse by Kenya’s lack of a national air quality control monitoring programme.

Kenya has a total of eight laws linked to air quality control but often has poor implementation.