Tribhuvan University, Department of Health, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Nepal Open University, Faculty of Social Science and Education, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Rev Environ Health. 2020 Mar 26;35(1):53-56. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2019-0086.
Although Nepal is a country rich in natural beauty, along with an abundance of natural resources, the children of this diverse nation still face several serious health issues arising from their own environment (water pollution, air pollution, chemical pollution, solid waste issues and drainage issues). Nepal also ranks as a highly vulnerable country to the adverse impacts of climate change. Children are more vulnerable to various infections for immunological, physiological and social reasons. Their inherent immunity diminishes within months after birth. There are risk factors for the development of various diseases, e.g. unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation, which contribute to diarrheal diseases, trachoma, hookworm and amoebic dysentery; another risk factor is indoor air pollution. The infant mortality rate (IMR) is higher in rural areas with 55 per 1000 live births, compared to urban areas with 38 per 1000 live births. Likewise, the under-5-year-old mortality rate (MR) in rural areas is 64 and that in urban areas is 45 per 1000 live births. Around 12% of the population suffer from chronic respiratory diseases, according to a recent study exploring the situation in Kathmandu. Pneumonia is a leading cause of mortality among children under 5 years of age in Nepalese hospitals. Children under 5 are more prone to the ill effects of polluted environments because of their less well-developed immune system. In addition, the school environment is not sufficiently healthy due to the distribution of unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation supply systems. In Nepal, mainly in the 20 Terai districts, arsenic contamination of groundwater is a public health problem. Underground water is used as drinking water in those areas, but without purification - the estimate is that around 0.5 million people live at the risk of arsenic poisoning. Within a span of 200 km from north to south, the climate of Nepal varies from arctic to tropical. The annual average air pollution concentration is 5 times above the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines, which poses a serious health risk to hundreds of thousands of Nepalese people: 133 out of 1,000,000 deaths each year are related to air pollution. Dramatically, Kathmandu city is a silent killer to walk around due to air pollution, and its air quality is ranked as the worst out of 180 countries, according to the 2018 Environmental Performance Index. However, insufficient studies have been conducted to explore children's environmental health issues. It is therefore essential to carry out more scientific studies to explore the issues of children's environmental health as environmental health problems in children are serious in the Nepalese context.
尽管尼泊尔是一个自然环境优美、自然资源丰富的国家，但这个多元化国家的儿童仍然面临着一些严重的健康问题，这些问题源于他们所处的环境，包括水污染、空气污染、化学污染、固体废物问题和排水问题。尼泊尔也是一个极易受到气候变化不利影响的国家。儿童由于免疫、生理和社会原因，更容易受到各种感染的影响。他们出生后几个月内固有免疫力就会下降。存在一些导致各种疾病发展的风险因素，例如不安全的饮用水和缺乏卫生设施，这些因素导致腹泻病、沙眼、钩虫病和阿米巴痢疾；另一个风险因素是室内空气污染。农村地区的婴儿死亡率（IMR）为每千例活产 55 例，高于城市地区的每千例活产 38 例。同样，农村地区的 5 岁以下儿童死亡率（MR）为每千例活产 64 例，城市地区为每千例活产 45 例。根据最近一项探索加德满都情况的研究，约有 12%的人口患有慢性呼吸道疾病。在尼泊尔医院，肺炎是导致 5 岁以下儿童死亡的主要原因。5 岁以下儿童由于免疫系统发育不完善，更容易受到污染环境的不利影响。此外，由于不安全饮用水的分布和卫生供应系统不佳，学校环境也不够健康。在尼泊尔，主要是在 20 个特赖地区，地下水砷污染是一个公共卫生问题。这些地区的地下水被用作饮用水，但未经净化——据估计，约有 50 万人面临砷中毒的风险。在 200 公里的南北跨度内，尼泊尔的气候从北极到热带各不相同。尼泊尔的年平均空气污染浓度是世界卫生组织（世卫组织）空气质量指南的 5 倍，这对数十万尼泊尔人构成了严重的健康威胁：每年有 133 人死于空气污染。可悲的是，由于空气污染，加德满都市区成为一个步行的隐形杀手，其空气质量在 180 个国家中排名最差，根据 2018 年环境绩效指数。然而，目前还没有足够的研究来探讨儿童的环境健康问题。因此，有必要开展更多的科学研究，探讨儿童环境健康问题，因为在尼泊尔，儿童的环境健康问题非常严重。
