The environmental health in both low income countries around the world is of serious concern due to the deleterious effects. The three main health issues are indoor air pollution, consumption of contaminated water, and lead poisoning (Jones, MM 11/9/2016). Different illnesses and possibly death can arise from poor environmental conditions (11/9/2016). How each issue is effecting children and what is being done will be discussed to further understand what actions must take place to improve the environment to achieve higher standard of living. Indoor air pollution is an issue for many low income families, causing a multitude of adverse health effects. Dangerous smoke to have built up indoors include both the smoke from burning of solid fuels …show more content…
There is nearly 1 billion people who do not have access to clean drinking water (Jones, MM 11/9/2016). Low income families are not likely to have access to water within the immediate area, so women and children are forced to travel long distances in order to gather water that is not clean at all (11/9/2016). Not only is the travel dangerous, but it takes away time from children to be getting an education (11/9/2016). Some possible adverse health effects from drinking contaminated water include diarrhea, dehydration, and even death (11/9/2016). Infants are much more sensitive to the bacteria in the water given their undeveloped immune system, which is why water related illnesses is one of the leading causes of deaths for infants without clean drinking water (11/9/2016). There are interventions being undergone to help improve access to safe drinking water. For example, wells are being installed closer to people’s homes to avoid the long and treacherous walk to an already contaminated water supply (11/9/2016). Not needing to travel for hours every day allows children and women the time to get educated (11/9/2016). Another, more expensive intervention, is a water filtration system (11/9/2016). The government of each country should invest money towards these interventions as an investment towards improving the quality of life, creating a more educated society, and reducing medical costs
Humans need water. In a world that is overpopulated, we use a lot of water and other natural resources. Currently, in our world, clean water is getting scarce. Recently, for example, Flint, Michigan, had a water crisis. In early 2016, the water was discovered to be tainted with lead and other toxins. Long before that, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and Governor Rick Snyder along with his council, knew about the lead, but to save money for the city of Flint in early 2014 Snyder had changed the city’s water source to the Flint River which had corroded pipes, causing people of all ages to be sick from the high amounts of lead
Lead is a metal found virtually everywhere even today. Sources of lead include auto body shops, electric storage batteries, glazes for china dishes, crockery, insecticides, electric cable insulation, hose, pipe, sheet and floor coverings. Lead is associated with stain glass work, jewelry making and antique ceramic doll painting. Although lead in paint was outlawed, there are still many homes that have lead paint (White et al, 1990). Lead found in gasoline was found in one study to account for 23--27% of the lead blood levels in the people tested (Wagner, 1991). This exposure to lead sources is more of a concern for children due to the characteristic habit of children to taste everything they touch; this characteristic is known as pica. Children are also in closer contact with their lead polluted environment during play. They are more active and exposed to outdoor contaminates and they inhale dust and dirt that are lead contaminated. Furthermore, the adsorption rate of lead in the digestive tract is up to 10 times greater in chil...
Many people grab a water bottle to go as they head to life as normal, others in developing countries spend their lives searching for water that is rarely found. Even if they do obtain water, it is seldom clean and usually comes with the risk of disease. As more developed countries pay a dollar or so for a bottle of water, others in less fortunate places worship water as if it is gold. As many children around the world attend a privileged school everyday, the idea of missing school due to water-borne illness never crosses their mind, yet for those in less fortunate countries, it is a gift to have the strength and health to attend school on a regular basis.
... environmental quality leading health indicators are air quality index exceeding 100 and children of ages 3 to 11 exposed to secondhand smoke. Poor water quality can lead to gastrointestinal illness, neurological problems and cancer. Poor air quality can cause cardiovascular disease, cancers, and asthma. Certain chemicals found in homes and workplaces can contribute to severe poisonings and other toxic serious effects.
Measures to expand and improve public delivery systems of drinking water, contributing to a reduction in morbidity and mortality associated with enteric diseases, because these diseases are associated directly or indirectly with providing substandard water or poor provision water. Currently, 1,400 million people lack access to safe drinking water and nearly 4,000 billion lack adequate sanitation. According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), 80% of diseases are transmitted through contaminated water.
1998-1999 World Resources: A Guide to the Global Environment. Environmental Change and Human Health. A Joint Publication by the World Resources Institute, the World Bank, the United Nations Environmental Programme, and the United Nations Development Programme. Oxford University Press, New York, NY 1998.
World Health Organisation (1997). Health and Environment in Sustainable Development : Five years after the Earth Summit.
We just learned about the outdoor air pollution, now we have to learn about the indoor air pollution. Indoor air pollution, is founded with the highest concentration of harmful fumes or toxic pollutants than outdoors. According to Nature, Causes, and Burden of Condition, air pollution is considering “a major threat to health, particularly for women and young children, who may spend many hours close to the fire”, other words most of the household uses “solid fuels burn them in open fire or simple stoves that release most of the smoke into the home”, creating more air pollution (Bruce, Rehfuess, Mehta, Hutton, & Smith
Toxic pollution is one of the most underreported global problems affecting a lot of people; this is because of lack of data. Children and the elderly are the most vulnerable to the health effects of pollution. More than three million children under the age of five die annual due to environmental factors. Toxic pollution interferes with the children’s development, causing damages that can last a lifetime. Babies are also being born with birth defects. The amount of people at risk of death and disease from toxic pollution is greater than those that suffer from malaria and close to those affected by HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Death is not the only end result; many people affected by pollution have to deal with the long-term illnesses, neurological damage, and diseases caused by toxic
Water is a crucial element for human survival and plays an important role in reducing deadly diseases and improving the human health [1]. As the global population increases, there is an increasing demand for clean water supply [1]. However, according to WHO and UNICEF, around 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services and 340,000 children under five die every year from diarrheal disease [1]. It is crucial to take actions in addressing the global water crisis to satisfy basic human needs and growing demands on world’s water resources for other water uses.
Clean water is needed for good human and animal health, but as DoSomething.org states, over 1 billion people worldwide don’t have a means of getting clean drinking water, an...
Having clean water to drink means that water must have microbial, chemical and physical characteristics that meet WHO guidelines or national standards on drinking water quality. Around 780 million people in the world don’t have access to clean drinking water (Millions Lack Safe Water). More than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes. Nearly all deaths, 99 percent, occur in developing countries. Around the world, diseases in unclean water kill about 1,400 children every day (Clean Drinking Water). There are many organizations that raise money in order to help develop ways or create ways for people to obtain clean drinking water. However, many people are unaware that this is even a problem in other countries because we take clean water for granted.
As of this year, nearly 1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water and 2.6 billion live without adequate water sanitation. The McDonald's down the street, however, will sell you a 1/3 pounder burger for only 150 gallons. Changes in lifestyle can easily reduce this number and help not only save water, but money as well. Currently, with our diminishing water supply, one of the main goals of humanitarian organizations is ensuring that everyone has the right and equality to water. With global access to water, it reduces the responsibility for political tension between countries fighting to literally stay alive.
...ffects on human health. These have high negative effects on low income areas, as a result of pollution, visual, oral and air, as well as high levels of overcrowding. The World Health Organisation predicts that in the next 30years most of the world’s population growth will occur in cities and towns of poor countries. This rapid, unplanned and unsustainable pattern of urbanisation, is creating cities into focal points for environmental and health hazards (World Medical Association, 2010).
Are you aware of the detrimental impacts that we have had on our environment? Every second, the Earth is being polluted by poisonous gases, waste products and due to human activities, the world’s climate is dramatically changing. In other words, these impacts do not only harm our environment but also our health. It has been scientifically proven that air pollution causes respiratory diseases and cancer, due to the inhalation of all the harmful chemicals. Water pollution can also lead to typhoid, diarrheal diseases and other waterborne disease, due to the intake of bacteria and parasites. Many people have died due to these health-related illnesses. So why are we still living in this awful condition? Air sustains us and water is a basic necessity, so we should do what we can to prevent pollution. In short, we should protect our environment to ensure a healthy life a...