Indoor air pollution linked to millions of deaths

Air pollution is often used in reference to the outdoors, but have you thought that the air in our households and offices could also be polluted and equally harmful?

Indoor air pollution is a global health threat and recent findings by the World Health Organisation indicate that an estimated two million people in developing countries die from exposure to household (indoor) air pollution every year. The main sources of this pollution, especially in rural setups, are carbon monoxide and radon (a radioactive, colourless, odourless and tasteless gas) in smoke.

Most of the people living in countries within sub-Saharan Africa (nearly 80 per cent of the entire population) rely on inefficient and hazardous forms of energy for cooking, lighting and heating. This is mainly due to high poverty levels and low levels of industrialisation in these countries. Many households lack electricity and so energy consumption is essentially reliant on biomass fuel (wood, dung, coal and other solid fuels), which when burnt indoors cause pollution that has serious health implications on both children and adults.

Some of the diseases triggered by indoor pollution include acute respiratory infections, lung cancer, blindness, TB and miscarriages. In Kenya, indoor air pollution is a major health concern and has been ranked among the factors linked to high morbidity in the country.

So far, little has been done by the Government to pinpoint appropriate and affordable interventions to reduce it. It is, therefore, imperative for every Kenyan to know the effects of this pollution. Mothers living in rural households can be educated on the best ways to keep safe while, for example, cooking at home. They can cook outdoors, keep children away from smoke and improve ventilation in their homes.

Improved affordable stoves and clean fuels for cooking can go a long way in curbing the effects of indoor air pollution.