AMMAN — Air pollution is a
leading cause of death worldwide, with seven million people dying each year due
to the low quality of air they breathe, especially indoor air. More worrisome, studies conducted worldwide
by the
World Health Organization (WHO) point to a strong connection between air
pollution and COVID-19: the higher the level of pollution, the higher the
number of COVID-19 cases and deaths.
اضافة اعلان
A “national dialogue on air quality
and its impact on public health” convened on Tuesday under the patronage of HRH
Princess Sumaya Bint El–Hassan, president of the
Royal Scientific Society (RSS), who presented a keynote address, delivered on her behalf by Rafat Assi,
Executive Director of Sustainable Solutions Sector.
Princess Sumaya urged stakeholders to
work together to draft and enforce legislation on monitoring, assessing, and
improving the quality of ambient and indoor air.
The national dialogue, jointly
organized by Urban95, The RSS and Bernard Van Leer Foundation aimed to share
experience on how to preserve the quality of air, a right humanity should enjoy,
with expert panelists from the ministries of environment, health and public
works and housing, the Greater Amman Municipality and the World Health
Organization’s Regional Center for Environmental Health Action.
Topics covered ways to monitor, assess
and improve air quality, challenges and prospects, urban planning and design,
with a focus on solutions for better air quality.
The panelists were in accord about the
findings of the recent international studies suggesting the connection between
pollution and COVID-19; especially in the Middle East region, which is
surrounded by deserts that blow sand and dust into urban areas, increasing the risk
of viruses being transmitted via aerosols.
The meeting highlighted the need to
secure the basic human right to breathe clean air, particularly so in the case
of babies and children, who have no control over the quality of air they are
surrounded by. One study conducted in
India, known for its high level of pollution, found that an Indian baby in New
Delhi inhales pollutants equivalent to 15 cigarettes per day.
Indoor air is as important to be
monitored and assessed, said the panelists, as children and their caregivers
spend most of their time indoors, where there are many contaminants that could
affect the air quality, like building construction materials, painting or
coatings, gas stoves, cleaning solvents, detergents and indoor smoking. Lack of
proper ventilation further downgrades the quality of air.
The Urban 95 Convening’s focus this
year is “Clean Air” to strengthen government action in support of babies,
toddlers and those who care for them, especially the most vulnerable. The Global Urban95 network includes leaders
in government, academia, civil society and business working on a broad range of
urban issues such as planning, public space, mobility, health and nature.
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