Silent suffocation in Africa: air pollution is a growing menace, affecting the poorest children the most

Only 6 per cent of children in Africa live in areas where air pollution is reliably measured at ground-level, leaving half a billion children across the continent living in areas with no reliable means of measuring air quality, according to a new UNICEF report released on World Environment Day. The report notes that air pollution is a growing challenge for Africa. Air pollution also impacts ecosystems – vital to livelihoods and health – as well as food crops. A recent study noted in the report estimates the economic cost of premature deaths from outdoor air pollution across Africa to be $215bn.