Background
Air pollution is not just an environmental issue—it is the leading environmental health threat to children worldwide. It contributes to illness and puts healthy development at risk from the earliest days of life, with the greatest burden experienced by children in low- and middle-income countries. But the crisis is solvable: proven solutions exist, but urgent investment and political will are urgently needed.
New report on children, air pollution and health
930 million children globally – 40% of total children – are daily forced to breathe toxic outdoor air with pollution levels of fine particulate matter seven times higher than the WHO recommended levels. Some 800 million children are exposed to toxic air at home, largely due to the reliance on polluting cooking practices like the use of solid fuels (wood, charcoal, coal, dung) and kerosene paired with inefficient stoves or open fires.
The new WHO/UNICEF publication “Clean air, healthy children: Summary of evidence and multisectoral interventions to tackle air pollution for a healthier, equitable future” illustrates the scale of the air pollution crisis for children around the world, presents the latest scientific evidence on health impacts, and sets out a strategic, cross-sectoral framework to protect children. The report highlights seven key sources of air pollution impacting children’s health, including residential energy use, transport, industrial activity, waste-burning, smoke from wildfires, sand and dust storms, and secondhand smoke by tobacco use.
The publication helps to illustrate the inequities inherent with air pollution exposure, showing that almost all children exposed to high levels of outdoor air pollution, live in low - and middle-income countries.
The new report will be launched on 14 October 2025 and presented through a global webinar designed to:
- Share the report’s key messages and data
- Showcase country experiences and initiatives that protect children’s health
- Provide an interactive forum to discuss findings and lessons learned
- Explore opportunities and challenges in implementing clean air policies and programmes
- Highlight the health sector’s role in safeguarding future generations
- Outline the next steps and way forward toward cleaner air and healthier futures for the most vulnerable groups
Agenda
to be announced
*The webinar will be held in English*