Toxic Air Kills Two Children Every Hour in Bangladesh, New Report Reveals

Air pollution has become the second leading cause of death globally for children under the age of five, with Bangladesh emerging as one of the hardest hit nations, according to a devastating new study. The report, titled "Structural Dependencies Perpetuate Disproportionate Childhood Health Burden from Air Pollution," by the international research group Zero Carbon Analytics (ZCA), reveals that over 19,000 children under five died in Bangladesh in 2021 due to air pollution related conditions, a rate that averages out to nearly two deaths every hour.

The report highlights that children in the least developed countries, including Bangladesh, face a staggering 94 times higher risk of dying from air pollution compared to those in developed nations. More than a quarter of all global deaths in this age group are now linked to polluted air.

ZCA's findings point to a lethal combination of indoor and outdoor pollution sources as the primary drivers of this crisis. Outdoor emissions from sources such as brick kilns, coal power plants, and vehicle exhaust contribute heavily to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which significantly increases the risk of pneumonia, a major killer of young children. Compounding this, Bangladesh ranks among the lowest in Asia for access to clean cooking technologies, meaning toxic smoke from burning wood, dung, and coal for household cooking continues to poison indoor environments. The study warns that mothers using these high polluting fuels face a 2.6 times higher risk of giving birth to low weight babies.

The grim figures underscore an urgent public health crisis that is already straining the nation's healthcare system. Dr. Sajid Hossain Khan, a physician at the National Institute of Diseases of the Chest & Hospital, was quoted in coverage of the report stressing the urgency of the situation: "Air pollution is one of the biggest threats to children's health in Bangladesh... Clean air is as essential as clean water. To ensure our children survive, grow up healthy, and thrive, we must take decisive action now."

The ZCA analysis calls for rapid structural changes, including modernizing brick kiln technology and accelerating the transition to clean cookstoves, actions which it estimates could prevent over 16,000 child deaths annually in Bangladesh.

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