Preventing disease through healthy environments

Nearly 1 in 4 deaths across the globe are due to environmental factors

Every year an estimated 12.6 million people die as a result of living or working in an unhealthy environment.

Environmental risk factors, such as air, water and soil pollution, chemical exposures, climate change, and ultraviolet radiation contribute to more than 100 diseases and injuries.

Deaths from infectious diseases have declined

In the past decade deaths due to infectious diseases, such as diarrhoea and malaria, often related to poor water, sanitation and waste management, have declined.

Increases in access to safe water and sanitation and decreases in households using solid fuels for cooking have been key contributors to this decline, alongside better access to immunization, insecticide-treated mosquito nets and essential medicines.

Children under 5 years of age are most affected by the environment

Yearly, 1.7 million deaths in children under 5 years of age are due to the environment. The most prominent causes of death are lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, and diarrhoeal diseases.

Older adults are the second age group most impacted by the environment

Yearly, 4.9 million deaths in adults between 50 and 75 years of age are due to the environment. Unlike children under 5, older adults are most affected by noncommunicable diseases.

Low- and middle-income countries bear the greatest share of environmental disease

Regionally, low- and middle-income countries in the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions had the largest environment-related disease burden in 2012, with a total of 7.3 million deaths, most attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollution.

Environmental impacts are uneven across different social groups

Exposure to environmental risk factors is unequally distributed across populations. This unequal distribution is often related to social characteristics such as income, social status, employment and education, but also non-economic aspects such as gender, age and ethnicity.

Environmental disease burden is preventable

Health and other sectors need to work together to reduce the environmental disease burden. For example, reducing traffic congestion and improving public transport networks are important determinants of air pollution, and usually require cooperation with the transport sector and city planners.

Local governance must address environmental health planning

Municipalities are natural leaders of the local environment and health planning. They are often involved in developing the local economy, including transport, tourism, and industry, and can play an important role in healthy planning if they are aware of the potential risks and benefits at stake, and are provided with the tools and support they need.

Healthy environments greatly contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals

All of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals are related to the environment and to health. Environmental health interventions can make a valuable and sustainable contribution towards reducing the global disease burden and improving the well-being of people everywhere.