Pollution & Public Health Raising awareness can mitigate the disaster

Dr. ForqanUddin Ahmed :
According to a World Bank report, Bangladesh is one of the country which is most affected by pollution and environmental risks. Of the total number of deaths per year in Bangladesh, 28 per cent are due to various diseases caused by environmental pollution. But worldwide, the average death rate is only 16 percent. The level of pollution in urban areas of Bangladesh has reached alarming levels. 80,000 people died in different cities of the country due to environmental pollution in 2015. According to a report released by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPI), Bangladesh’s position has slipped 40 stairs with 179th plakhe from an environmental protection survey of 180 countries. Burundi, a war-ravaged country in Africa, ranks 180th position in the index. Bangladesh is one of the top 10 countries in terms of deforestation, air and water and plastic-polythene pollution. The continuous deterioration of Bangladesh’s position in the world in terms of environmental protection is a matter of great concern and panic for the common man. This is because women, children and low-income marginalized people suffer the most from environmental pollution.
Public health and the environment are closely related. When the environment is polluted, it inevitably affects the public health. Disrupted forests, lands and rivers and canals are also the cause of natural disasters. The government agencies must be capable enough about environmental protection, there is a tendency to ignore the demands of environmental protection. As a result, they cannot control the people who want to occupy the canals, beels, reservoirs and forests. Due to population growth and improper use of technology, the environment is being ruined and public health is being harmed. Smoke and garbage from vehicles and factories are polluting the environment. Mobile phone towers, routers used for Internet are spreading radiation. As a result people are facing various health hazards. Also, there is a lakhk of awareness among the people regarding the consequences of environment polllution. To overcome the situation, public awareness and government activities are crucial.
Environmental pollution is reaching worrying proportions worldwide. Urbanization and industrialization along with economic development have led to increase in energy consumption and waste discharges. The global environmental pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions and acid deposition, as well as water pollution and waste management is considered as international public health problems, which should be investigated from multiple perspectives including social, economic, legislation, and environmental engineering systems, as well as lifestyle habits helping health promotion and strengthening environmental systems to resist contamination. Environmental pollutants have various adverse health effects from early life. Some of the most important harmful effects are prenatal disorders, infant mortality, respiratory disorders, allergy, malignancies, cardiovascular disorders, increase in stress oxidative, endothelial dysfunction, mental disorders, and various other harmful effects. Though, short-term effects of environmental pollutants are usually highlighted, wide range of hazards of air pollution from early life and their possible implication on chronic non-communicable diseases of adulthood should be underscored. Numerous studies have exposed that environmental particulate exposure has been linked to increased risk of morbidity and mortality from many diseases, organ disturbances, cancers, and other chronic diseases. Therefore it is time to take action and control the pollution. Otherwise, the waste products from consumption, heating, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transportation, and other human activities will degrade the environment.
Maintaining environmental health, safe and healthy communities is possible through surveillance systems and public education on the protection of important resources, monitoring hazards, investigation and response delivered for disease treatment. Delivery of services and implementation of environmental health policies through monitoring and control activities play an important role in improving environmental parameters, encouraging the use of environmental friendly behavior and healthy technologies. Different kinds of interventions and public awareness programmes are promoted based on the strength of the scientific knowledge regarding the magnitude of adverse health effects and impact of environmental pollution on public health. Competent health professionals help in ensuring reduction and prevention of the harmful public health effects due to environmental factors.
The state has to play a major role in protecting public health. Public health and environmental protection depend on many things. For example, high taxes and fines are required for smoking, drinking and unhealthy environment. Polythene, noise pollution etc. should be prevented. The law must be properly enforced to protect public health and the environment. The brick kiln chimney should be plakhed at proper height, mobile towers should be removed from crowded plakhes, dumping of garbage should be stopped everywhere; arrangements should be made for utilization of waste recycling system. Old used vehicles need to be removed from the road. All the industries and factories of the country should be forced to introduce waste treatment (ETP) system. Roads and highways need to be closed for dilapidated vehicles, loud trumpets need to be banned, and urban garbage must be cleaned regularly. Plastic and polythene products should be avoided; rural garbage and excreta should not be mixed with canals or river water. In order to maintain the balance of the environment, tree planting campaigns have to be conducted every year, forests have to be conserved.
A beautiful and healthy environment makes human life for human habitation to be useful. We all have to take care of it. Moreover public health and environmental awareness are complementary. Environmental impact plays a significant role in our public health. For sustainable development we must look for sound environment to ensure public health because environmental disasters threaten our public health. Without environmental development our public health will collapse.

(The writer is former Deputy Director General, Bangladesh Ansar and VDP).