8 November 2020 – Air pollution is an important determinant of health. Numerous epidemiological studies have found an association between air pollution and a wide range of adverse health effects in the general population.

Air pollution kills more than 7 million people worldwide, including 500 000 annually from WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region. Air pollution with particulate matter has reached alarming levels in many cities of the Region, more than 90% of the urban population breath air exceeding WHO safe levels up to 12 times.

A health risk assessment of air pollution is the scientific evaluation of potential adverse health effects resulting from human exposure to several air pollutants. Estimates of death and disease from air pollution are the starting point for developing or adjusting policies and measures that protect people’s health. Quantifying the public health effects of exposure to air pollution has become critical to policy discussions.

To support this important component of policy-making, the WHO Regional Centre for Environmental Health Action conducted a virtual training session on health impact assessment of air pollution using AirQ+ Software". AirQ+ software calculates the health effects of exposure to air pollution, including estimates of reduction in life expectancy.

The training consisted of 3 components:

• reviewing and discussing the recommendations of previous regional training workshops on air quality;
• sharing experiences from countries of the Region in using Air Q+ software;
• demonstrating the second version of Air Q+ software.

The training was attended by 60 participants from Bahrain, Egypt, Islamic republic of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and United Arab Emirates, and from different sectors, including ministries of health and environment, research institutions, in addition to WHO staff from country offices.

Related links

AirQ+: software tool for health risk assessment of air pollution

Health aspects of long-range transboundary air pollution

 

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