Call to tackle environmental degradation
KARACHI – Worldwide survey reports reveal that around 13 million people die annually across the globe due to preventable environmental causes. In Pakistan, the government is required to ensure concrete measures to control the worst effects of environmental factors.
Prof Dr Zafar Fatmi, head of Environmental and Occupational Health and Injuries Unit of Aga Khan University, expressed these views at the 47th public awareness seminar on Environment, Health, and Development, held at seminar room of Dr Panjwani Centre here on Wednesday. PCMD, University of Karachi and Virtual Education Project Pakistan (VEPP) jointly organised the seminar.
Preventing environmental causes, if appropriately dealt it could save four million lives a year in children alone annually, mostly in developing countries.
Studies say that, globally, 25 percent of all preventable illnesses are directly caused by environmental factors. Simplicity reduces the heaviness in life and makes the human environment better and clean.
Prof Fatmi urged the citizens to adopt simplicity in their lives as simplicity reduced heaviness in life and made the human environment better and clean. Pakistan is also getting worst affects from the built environment which requires the government to chalk out better economic and social policies to address this burning issue.
It is pertinent to mention here that WHO Global Health Observatory estimates that about 200 deaths per 100000 population are attributable to environmental factors in Pakistan.
He said that the concept of environment was overwhelming, as it assumed to include anything and everything in our surrounding. It is important to make distinction between health of environment and environmental health, he said.
He further added that environment health was health of human affected by environment. Environmental health however, is a factor in the environment which influence the human health and is an essential and important component of public health, he mentioned.
He said that environmental health was multidisciplinary that influenced the health of the population through exposures to physical, chemical and biological psycho-social risk factors. It also leads to changes in our behaviors in response to those factors, the professor added.
The concept of development has evolved overtime from purely economic connotation to more comprehensive social and economic improvement, he pointed out, adding that environment and development are intricately linked and both are also affecting the health of the humans.
He said that there were some major diseases linked with environment which includes heart disease, stroke, chronic obstruction pulmonary disease, lung cancer, acute lower respiratory infections, and etc. Human are affected by various environmental risks such as: air pollution, lack of water and inadequate sanitation, chemical hazards, electronic waste, global environmental changes etc, he pointed out.
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