The Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) has released a new analysis of data that points to pollution as the largest factor in disease and death in the developing world, killing more than 8.4 million people each year. But pollution has a low priority in the current draft of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the U.N.’s new plan for development assistance for the next 15 years.

 

The analysis, based on new data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and others, determine that 7.4 million deaths were due to pollution sources from air, water, sanitation and hygiene. WHO figures released in May 2014 count deaths from outdoor and indoor air pollution at 6.58 million; water contamination, lack of sanitation and hygiene at 842,000.

 

The analysis by GAHP attributes an additional one million deaths to toxic chemical and industrial wastes from large and small producers in formal and informal sectors of economies in poor countries.

 

The total number of deaths, 8.4 million, is largest death factor in the world. In fact, pollution causes almost three times more deaths than malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis combined(1.5 million deaths from HIV; 600,000 from malaria; and 900,000 from tuberculosis).

GAHP members worldwide have come together to urge the U.N. to spotlight pollution in the SDGs (see the growing list of supporters). A position paper and a draft of GAHP’s proposed revised SDG texthave been created. These will be presented to the Open Working Group of the SDGs, meeting in New York City next week.

 

“There is a reason why pollution is sometimes called the invisible killer,” says Richard Fuller, President of Pure Earth/Blacksmith Institute. “While it is the single largest risk factor, unfortunately, its impact is difficult to track because health statistics measure disease, not pollution.”

 

Fuller adds, “Pollution causes diseases like cancers, lung infections, and heart disease amongst others. Hospitals don’t measure what caused those diseases. But contaminated water, soil and air result in millions of additional diseases and deaths. These are deaths we can avoid, if we prioritize addressing pollution.”

 

It is no surprise that the overwhelming majority of deaths from pollution are in low and middle-countries, where the world’s worst polluted places are located. The Poisoned Poor, like SeynabouMbengue who lost five of her children to pollution, are unable to move to less polluted communities or escape from the toxic jobs that sustain them economically.

 

In the U.S., like other western countries, life-threatening pollution is mostly a thing of the past. The U.S. has well-developed legislative and regulatory systems, and technical expertise to deal with the problem.

 

Now, the task is to transfer technical know-how from the wealthy countries to those in need; poorer countries with millions of deaths and diseases that can and should be avoided. GAHP was created to undertake this exact mandate.