Child health experts have raised a warning for the families and parents who are surprisingly and worryingly unaware of the severe damage that is caused due to air pollution to the people living in UK. According to a survey of leading health professionals, nine in ten said that air pollution was harming children in their areas and a similar proportion which is 92 percent said that the public needs to be better informed about the issue.
The executive director at UNICEF, Mike Penrose that carried out the work with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said that the children in the UK were in the grip of a public health emergency. He said, “Children have a fundamental right to grow up in clean and safe environment that gives them the best possible start in life. The persistent, illegal breaches of air pollution limits across the UK are an unacceptable violation of this”. UNICEF campaigns on children’s rights and well bring around the world and announced in 2018 that it was working towards protecting the young people from toxic air and has made this mission as a priority across the Britain in the months ahead.
A recent series of reports have talked about the impact of air pollution which includes a huge reduction of intelligence among children, detrimental effect on teenage mental health and a record number of asthma deaths who grew up in polluted areas. Penrose added that the impact of the polluted air is undeniable and the country is home to more children suffering from respiratory conditions than anywhere else in Europe.
Reports say that every 20 minutes, a child experiencing asthma attack is admitted to the hospital. Now child health professionals are warning about the seriousness of this growing health crisis. In many urban parts of UK, nitrogen dioxide pollution is at illegal levels and particulate pollution exceeds World Health Organization guidelines in many places.
Photo Credits:BBC
