Air Pollution and Development in Africa: Impacts on Health, the Economy and Human Capital

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dc.contributor.authorUnited Nations Environment Programme
dc.contributor.organizationEcosystems Division
dc.contributor.otherFisher, Samantha
dc.contributor.otherBellinger, David
dc.contributor.otherCropper, Maureen
dc.contributor.otherKumar, Pushpam
dc.contributor.otherBinagwaho, Agnes
dc.contributor.otherBiao Koudenoukpo, Juliette
dc.contributor.otherPark, Yongjoon
dc.contributor.otherTaghian, Gabriella
dc.contributor.otherLandrigan, Philip
dc.coverage.spatialAfrica
dc.date.accessioned2021-09-06T20:35:18Z
dc.date.available2021-09-06T20:35:18Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.descriptionThis report examines the impacts of air pollution on health, the economy, and human capital across Africa, with focused analysis on Ethiopia, Ghana, and Rwanda during a period of significant environmental and epidemiological transition on the continent. Drawing on 2019 morbidity and mortality data from the Global Burden of Disease study and air pollution concentration data from the World Health Organization, the authors quantified disease burden, estimated economic output losses from pollution-related illness and premature death, and calculated cognitive function losses in children attributable to fine particulate matter exposure. The study found that air pollution was responsible for approximately 1.1 million deaths across Africa in 2019, making it the second leading cause of death after AIDS, with household air pollution accounting for the majority of fatalities while ambient outdoor pollution is rising in tandem with urbanization and industrialization. Combined economic losses from pollution-related morbidity and mortality reached 1.16 percent of gross domestic product in Ethiopia, 0.95 percent in Ghana, and 1.19 percent in Rwanda. Additionally, ambient fine particulate matter exposure was associated with an estimated 1.96 billion lost cognitive performance points among African children in 2019, with implications for long-term human capital formation and national development trajectories.en
dc.formatText
dc.identifier.urihttps://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/36717
dc.languageEnglish
dc.page.number45 p.
dc.rights.accessLevelPublic
dc.subjectair pollution
dc.subjecteconomic development
dc.subjectAfrica
dc.subjecthealth
dc.subjectdisease
dc.subjectdeath
dc.subjectmortality
dc.subjectmorbidity
dc.subjectchild
dc.titleAir Pollution and Development in Africa: Impacts on Health, the Economy and Human Capitalen
dc.typeCommunication or other resource

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