Health

Pollution likely to cut 9 years of life expectancy of 40% of Indians

Published

3 years ago

September 1, 2021

(Last Updated On: September 1, 2021)

Air pollution is likely to reduce the life expectancy of about 40% of Indians by more than nine years, according to a report released by a U.S. research group on Wednesday.

More than 480 million people living in the vast swathes of central, eastern and northern India, including the capital, New Delhi, endure significantly high pollution levels, said the report prepared by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).

“Alarmingly, India’s high levels of air pollution have expanded geographically over time,” the EPIC report said.

For example, air quality has significantly worsened in the western state of Maharashtra and the central state of Madhya Pradesh, it said.

Lauding India’s National Clean Air Program (NCAP), launched in 2019 to rein in dangerous pollution levels, the EPIC report said “achieving and sustaining” the NCAP goals would raise the country’s overall life expectancy by 1.7 years and that of New Delhi 3.1 years, Reuters reported.

The NCAP aims to reduce pollution in the 102 worst-affected cities by 20%-30% by 2024 by ensuring cuts in industrial emissions and vehicular exhaust, introducing stringent rules for transport fuels and biomass burning and reduce dust pollution. It will also entail better monitoring systems.

New Delhi was the world’s most polluted capital for the third straight year in 2020, according to IQAir, a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of lung-damaging airborne particles known as PM2.5.

Last year, New Delhi’s 20 million residents, who breathed some of the cleanest air on record in the summer because of coronavirus lockdown curbs, battled toxic air in winter following a sharp increase in farm residue burning in the nearby states of Punjab and Haryana, Reuters reported.

According to the EPIC’s findings, neighbouring Bangladesh could raise average life expectancy by 5.4 years if the country improves air quality to levels recommended by the World Health Organization.

To arrive at the life expectancy number, EPIC compared the health of people exposed to different levels of long-term air pollution and applied the results to various places in India and elsewhere.

Related Topics:featured India Indians Pollution U.S. research group

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Health

Balkh health officials report sharp increase in number of cancer patients

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: April 18, 2024)

Balkh Public Health Department officials say there has been a significant increase in the number of patients with cancer in the province.

“In 1401, about 2,613 OPD (out patient department) cases were registered with us. In 1402, these figures were 4,912 cases,” said Ehsanullah Kaliwal, the head of the oncology department at Balkh Regional Hospital.

Some doctors say genetic factors, environmental pollution, arbitrary use of medicines, and excessive consumption of meat were reasons for the sharp increase.

One doctor said cancer was also hereditry.

However, a large percentage of cancer patients in Balkh have stomach cancer. Many of them have appealed for the government to improve treatment facilities.

According to health officials, in the first month of this solar year (April), 423 cancer patients visited this hospital for treatment.

Health

Majority of Afghans with mental disorders are women: officials

Published

6 days ago

April 13, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: April 13, 2024)

Based on last year’s data, 52 percent of people with mental disorders in Afghanistan are women, the Ministry of Public Health said.

However, after the Islamic Emirate took over the country and with the improvement of nationwide security and the provision of better health services, mental disorders have decreased, the ministry said.

“Overall, the mental security of men and women in Afghanistan is not ensured and their mental security is disturbed. According to the figures shared with us, in 2023, 52 percent of the visitors for mental disorders were women,” said Sharaft Zaman Amarkhil, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Health.

“Generally speaking, we can say that compared to the past, the instances of mental illnesses have decreased,” he added.

People suffering mental disorders mostly refuse to share their problem, willingly or unwillingly.

“There are many problems at home; We are poor. I finished school, but didn’t find any job,” Ansar, a mentally ill person, said.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), half of Afghanistan’s population suffers from mental distress.

Factors such as unemployment, poverty, domestic violence, ban on girls’ and women’s education and work, and drugs are said to be key contributors to mental distress.

Health

Over 1 million women in Afghanistan malnourished last year: WFP

Published

3 weeks ago

March 29, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: March 29, 2024)

A total of 1.2 million women in Afghanistan were malnourished last year, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday.

Mona Shaikh, head of nutrition at WFP Afghanistan, said that the number of malnourished women is expected to increase this year.

On malnourished children, she said that their number will reach 3 million this year, but WFP will be able to assist only 1.6 million of them.

WFP warned that after foreign assistance cuts last year, it saw a rise in children’s admissions to malnutrition clinics in Afghanistan.

More than 23 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan this year, according to the United Nations. Over half of them are children.