Lung Health in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Addressing the Need for Cleaner Air

Refiloe Masekela and Aneesa Vanker
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Refiloe Masekela: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Nelson R Mandela School of Clinical Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4013, South Africa
Aneesa Vanker: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and MRC Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-13

Abstract: Air pollution is increasingly recognized as a global health emergency with its impacts being wide ranging, more so for low- and middle-income countries where both indoor and outdoor pollution levels are high. In Africa, more than 80% of children live in households which use unclean sources of energy. The effects of both indoor and outdoor pollution on lung health on children who are the most vulnerable to their effects range from acute lower respiratory tract infections to long-term chronic health effects. We reviewed the literature on the effects of air pollution in children in Sub-Saharan Africa from prenatal exposure, infancy and school-going children. Data from Sub-Saharan Africa on quantification of exposures both indoor and outdoor mainly utilizes modelling or self-reporting. Exposures to biomass not only increases the risk of acute respiratory tract infections in young children but also increases the risk of carriage of pathogenic bacteria in the upper respiratory tract. Although there is limited evidence of association between asthma and pollution in African children, airway hyper-responsiveness and lower lung function has been demonstrated in children with higher risk of exposure. Interventions at a policy level to both quantify the exposure levels at a population level are urgently needed to address the possible interventions to limit exposure and improve lung health in children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: pollution; indoor; outdoor; lung health; respiratory tract infection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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