Clean Air, Healthy Lives

The report 'Clean Air, Healthy Lives' outlines a strategic framework for health ministries to address the global air pollution crisis, which causes 7 million premature deaths annually. It advocates for the use of Health Impact Assessments (HIA) and tools like WHO's AirQ+ to quantify health burdens and drive policy. Through case studies from India, Singapore, the Philippines, South Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago, the document demonstrates the efficacy of solarising health centers, establishing inter-agency task forces, and using community-led litigation to enforce clean air standards.

• Air pollution is a critical global health threat causing 7 million premature deaths annually, making it the second leading risk factor for mortality worldwide. In 2021, nearly 90% of these deaths were attributed to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and approximately 700,000 deaths occurred in children under five years old.
• The economic impact of air pollution is severe, with the World Bank estimating the global cost of health damages at $8.1 trillion annually, which represents 6.1% of global GDP.
• Health Impact Assessments (HIA) are essential tools for quantifying the direct health and economic burdens of air pollution. The World Health Organization's AirQ+ software is specifically used to estimate the burden of disease attributable to air pollution exposure.
• In Trinidad and Tobago, the use of AirQ+ software revealed that over 600 deaths among individuals aged 30 and above in 2019 were directly attributable to air pollution. This data informed an integrated roadmap focusing on air quality, short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), and health.
• The State of Chhattisgarh, India, implemented a comprehensive health system assessment in 2022 to evaluate readiness in polluted districts. This led to upgrading infrastructure with digital X-ray machines and spirometers, developing training modules for healthcare workers, and improving medicine supply chains for respiratory diseases.
• To reduce reliance on polluting diesel generators, Chhattisgarh, India, solarised over 1,400 health centers. This initiative reduced local pollutants like PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides, and 90% of the solar-powered primary health centers reported cost savings compared to using diesel generators.
• Singapore manages transboundary haze through a Haze Action Plan (HAP) and a Haze Task Force that includes representatives from 28 government agencies as of September 2023. The system links real-time Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) updates to tailored health advisories issued by the Ministry of Health.
• The Philippines utilizes a health-led, cross-sectoral approach through the Inter-Agency Committee on Environmental Health (IACEH) and the National Environmental Health Action Plan (NEHAP). This framework has led to the updating of air quality guideline values for PM2.5 and PM10 to align with WHO standards.
• In South Africa, the 'Deadly Air' case resulted in a March 2022 High Court ruling that poor air quality in the Mpumalanga Highveld region breached residents' constitutional right to a healthy environment. This litigation was supported by evidence of 2,239 annual deaths attributable to coal-related air pollution.

APA

Narayan, S. (2025). Clean Air, Healthy Lives. Global Climate and Health Alliance. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Clean-Air-Healthy-Life-Report-1.pdf

Chicago

Narayan, Shweta. Clean Air, Healthy Lives. Global Climate and Health Alliance, 2025. https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Clean-Air-Healthy-Life-Report-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Narayan |first1=Shweta |title=Clean Air, Healthy Lives |publisher=Global Climate and Health Alliance |date=March 2025 |url=https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Clean-Air-Healthy-Life-Report-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{narayan2025clean, author = {Narayan, Shweta}, title = {{Clean Air, Healthy Lives}}, institution = {Global Climate and Health Alliance}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://climateandhealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Clean-Air-Healthy-Life-Report-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }