Reducing the health burden of air pollution

Air pollution is one of the most prevalent forms of environmental pollution putting people’s health at risk. WHO Western Pacific Regional Office has been making continuous efforts to combat air pollution with Member States. In 2016, the Regional Office formulated the Regional Committee Resolution on Western Pacific Regional Framework for Action on Health and the Environment on a Changing Planet (2016) and the Manila Declaration of Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on Health and Environment (2016) which identified the health impacts of air pollution as the top priority of environmental health.

The Thematic Working Group on Air Quality has been spearheading the air pollution monitoring and evaluation frameworks among experts in the region, while WHO Western Pacific Regional Office has been collaborating with individual governments in trying to establish a tailored approach to tackle air pollution. WHO is currently devising pilot methods to reduce reliance on coal and determine how best to cope with existing cooking and warming systems that are most detrimental to health.