Nearly 50 million people sign up call for clean air action for better health | Global News Avenue

Geneva, Switzerland, March 18, 2025 / African Media Agency (AMA) / – In an unprecedented solidarity show, more than 47 million health professionals, patients, advocates, representatives from civil society organizations, and individuals around the world have signed a major lawsuit calling for urgent action to reduce air pollution and protect people’s health abuses.

Air pollution is one of the greatest environmental threats to human health and a major contributor to climate change. About 7 million people die each year from air pollution, mainly due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

The global action call led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Health Organization will be held in The Second Global Conference on Air Pollution and Healthscheduled to be held in Cartagena, Colombia from March 25 to 27, 2025.

“Forty million people from the health community have issued a call for urgent, bold, science-oriented actions toward air pollution, and their voices must be heard,” said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Around the world, they support countries in implementing evidence-based tools to address air pollution and prevent the diseases it causes. At the second WHO Air Pollution and Health Conference in Cartagena, we hope to see concrete commitments from countries to implement these tools and save lives.”

The conference, hosted by the WHO and the Government of Colombia, will convene political leaders, representatives of civil society organizations, UN agencies and academia to promote the global clean air agenda that promises to benefit public health, climate change response and global and local sustainable development.

Recognizing the serious losses of air pollution, the health community calls on the government to take direct and ambitious steps to reduce emissions, implement stricter air quality standards, and transition to cleaner energy, thus unlocking multiple benefits for the health of humans and planets. The topic will also be a focus ahead of the 2025 United Nations Higher Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases (NCD), where world leaders will be asked to take stronger action.

Key facts:

• Air pollution in urban and rural areas produces subtle particulate matter, which leads to NCD such as stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and acute conditions such as pneumonia.
• About 2.1 billion people are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution in homes while using contaminated fire or stoves for cooking.
• Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are one of the leading causes of death, and many diseases are associated with exposure to air pollution. The global NCD epidemic lives 41 million people every year. Addressing air pollution is a key strategy to reduce the burden on NCD and improve global health.
• The sources of air pollution vary and are context-specific. The main sources of pollution include natural sources such as polluted energy in houses, energy production, industrial emissions, transportation, agriculture, waste, and deserts and sandstorms or wildfires.

Improving air quality by implementing well-known and available solutions will prevent premature deaths, improve health, drive sustainable economic development and mitigate climate change.

At the meeting, countries are expected to take specific measures, including setting and implementing and Who’s Global Air Quality Guide. Who, with Swiss Institute of Tropical and Public Health (Switzerland TPH)has been made public Updated 2025 air quality standards database Last month, data from about 140 countries are now included, showing the air pollution regulation efforts designed to protect public health.

“Although the challenges are enormous, many cities and countries can significantly improve air quality by implementing stricter pollution restrictions,” said Dr. Maria Neira, director of environment, climate change and health. “Clean air is not a person’s right, as recognized by the United Nations General Assembly, we need urgent work to expand the transition from coal-fired electricity to renewable energy, expand public and sustainable transport, and establish low-emission zones in cities and promote clean energy for cooking and in healthcare facilities.”

Commitment made at the upcoming second global conference on air pollution and health and The United Nations NCD’s Senior Meeting It will play a key role in paving the way for a healthier and more sustainable future for all. It’s time to answer the phone and step up your efforts to clean the air anywhere.

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