Ambient air pollution is an environmental health problem that affects people worldwide, but LMICs are disproportionately affected. In the Western Pacific Region the attributable mortality rate due to ambient air pollution varies between indoor air pollution and outdoor air population, with some communities at a higher risk of exposure due to gender norms, roles and relations.
Air Pollution
Ambient air pollution is an environmental health problem that affects people worldwide, but LMICs are disproportionately affected. In the Western Pacific Region the attributable mortality rate due to ambient air pollution varies between indoor air pollution and outdoor air population, with some communities at a higher risk of exposure due to gender norms, roles and relations.
Ambient air pollution in both cities and rural areas was estimated to cause 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide per year in 2016 linked to exposure to small particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less in diameter (PM2.5), which cause cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and cancers (150). Some deaths may be attributed to more than one risk factor at the same time. For example, both smoking and ambient air pollution affect lung cancer.
Ambient air pollution is an environmental health problem that affects people worldwide, however low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected. In the Region the attributable mortality rate due to ambient air pollution is far higher and highest in countries such as LMIC countries such as Mongolia compared to New Zealand and Australia (151) (see Table 4.1, Appendix 2). The mortality attributable to ambient air pollution is highest for males in Mongolia and for females in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (151). Males in the Philippines have the highest attributable mortality rate from indoor air pollution and females in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (152) (see Table 4.2, Appendix 2). Within countries, and between males and females the biggest difference in mortality from: (a) outdoor air pollution is seen in Tonga, Viet Nam, Samoa, Korea, Japan and Fiji where men have an attributable mortality rate twice that of women; and (b) indoor air pollution, can be seen in Kiribati, Mongolia and Korea. However in some of the countries this may reflect the relatively lower mortality rate overall e.g. 8 deaths for women and 17 deaths for men in Japan attributable to ambient air pollution per 100,000 population (151).
Women and children have greater exposure to indoor pollution due to gendered practices of using polluting combustion sources such as use of biomass, charcoal or coal for cooking, particularly in LMICs (153). Therefore, we might expect to see higher rates of mortality attributable to indoor air pollution among females. However, having sex-disaggregated data only provides a starting point for considering how sex and gender intersect to create differences in exposure, risk and outcomes between males and females at different ages. Box 7 illustrates the importance of applying a gender and equity lens to look at both the indicators used and move beyond a discussion of differences in rates between males compared to females to look at which males and which females are most likely to be affected.
