Environmental Hazards
Inadequate drinking water and sanitation, indoor air pollution, and accidents, injuries and poisonings: these are just three of the causes of the approximately 3 million deaths suffered annually by children under age five due to environmental hazards.
1.3 million children under five in developing countries died from diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene in the year 2000. According to WHO’s publication "Health and Environment in Sustainable Development – Five Years after the Earth Summit" 60% of the 2.2 million deaths a year in children under five caused by acute respiratory infections are associated with indoor air pollution (e.g., from the burning of biomass fuels in small, confined spaces), the lack of adequate heating and/or other unsanitary living conditions. Accidental injuries – including road traffic accidents, drowning, burns and poisonings - are the cause of over 400,000 deaths per year in children under five.
The lost or compromised ability to be active when children suffer from environmental degradation is vast. Yet, until recently, no specific efforts had been made to address the environmental hazards which specifically affect children. Children are not "little adults": they are in a dynamic process of growth and development, and they are particularly vulnerable to the acute and chronic effects of pollutants in their environments.
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