martphones and other devices can expose children to toxins linked to reduced intelligence, lung damage, and cancer, the WHO says. The volume of so-called e-waste is expected to reach 50 million metric tonnes by 2018 19 percent increase from 2014.
WHO also says Climate change has heightened risk factors, as well; rising temperatures and CO2 levels has led to increased pollen counts, which is linked with asthma prevalence among young children. Between 11 and 14 percent of children under the age of five currently suffer from asthma-related symptoms, and 44 percent of those cases are attributable to environmental factors.
The report helps to clearly establish the link between pollution and children’s health, Landrigan says. “It nails down the connectionand documents what many of us have known and been saying for years — that unhealthy environments make people unhealthy”.
These deaths are also preventable, if policies and regulations that improve housing, sanitation, clean water and emissions often result in large benefits to children’s health.