1.7 Million Children Die Every Year Because Of Pollution – And Trump Just Made It Worse

The World Health Organisation reported that 1.7 million children under the age of 5 die from pollution related issues every year. 1 in 4 children die because of second hand smoke, dirty water, poor sanitation and indoor or outdoor air pollution. Here are the statistics

• 570,000 children under 5 die each year from respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, due to indoor and outdoor air pollution and second-hand smoke.

• 361,000 children under 5 die each year due to diarrhea resulting from lack of access to clean water, and poor sanitation and hygiene.

• 270,000 children worldwide die each before they reach one month old.

• 200,000 childhood deaths from malaria could be prevented with better sanitation and mosquito-control measures.

• 200,000 children under age 5 die from unintentional injuries attributable to hazardous environments, including poisonings, falls and drowning. 

These facts are especially devastating as most of these conditions are preventable, according to the authors of the Global Burden of Disease Pediatrics Collaboration. Some of these conditions start as early as in the mother’s womb, but those conditions can also be prevented.

Unlike most tragedies, this one is barely getting any attention from the media or from government officials. ISIS has only killed more than 1,200 people, outside of Syria and Iraq. Which is obviously devastating and we should focus on stopping that but that number is significantly smaller than the amount of kids under the age of five that die because of environmental issues.

It’s time for governments world wide to push harder laws on keeping the air and waters clean. Governments should be regulating these actions instead of encouraging them. President Trump recently signed an executive order to roll back President Barack Obama’s clean water rule. The clean water rule was issued by Former President Obama in 2015. The regulation was used to limit pollution in major bodies of water, rivers, streams, and wetlands. Unfortunately, thanks to Mr. Trump, that rule is now gone.