Pollution in Kabul claims more lives than the war
Environment — di Elisabetta Scuri
In a single year, more people die from Kabul's polluted air than from the war in Afghanistan. Here is why a “health catastrophe” is a real risk.
Pollution in Kabul claims more lives than the war
In a single year, more people die from Kabul's polluted air than from the war in Afghanistan. Here is why a “health catastrophe” is a real risk.
Afghanistan has been at war since 1978. Last year, 2,798 civilians died in the conflict. Yet there is something more dangerous threatening the survival of Afghans: air pollution. Every year in Kabul, three thousand people lose their lives because of the appalling quality of the air they breathe.
"It is impossible to stay healthy without wearing an anti-smog mask," says Ahmad Wali, a pharmacist who does not even take his off at work. "I have been unwell for years," confides Malalai, a mother of nine. "When I speak I am out of breath after a few minutes. When I breathe my chest hurts. I cannot walk, but I cannot stand for too long either: I have no energy left."
Children are the most vulnerable
As these testimonies make clear, the situation is dire. According to the Ministry of Health, respiratory tract infections are the leading cause of premature death in Afghanistan. "Poor air quality has a very negative impact on people, especially children," explains Dr Mohammad Akbar Iqbal, who works at Kabul's paediatric hospital. "Young children, in fact, do not have an immune system strong enough to fight off the toxins."
The war itself is among the causes of pollution
The causes of the pollution are multiple. First and foremost, the war has driven large numbers of people to leave rural areas and move to Kabul, a safer place. As a result, many live in illegally built shacks in a city designed to house one million inhabitants, which now accommodates nearly five million. Providing adequate health services to everyone is clearly no easy task, particularly in a country devastated by conflict. Green spaces in the capital are virtually non-existent, so much so that last year the natural resources management department announced a 40-million-dollar plan to earmark 10,000 hectares of land for the creation of parks and gardens. For the time being, however, words have yet to be translated into action.
The other major problem is traffic. Every day 800,000 old and battered vehicles, running on highly polluting fuels, clog the dusty streets of Kabul. Diesel powers the electrical generators in homes; to heat the freezing winter nights, wood and coal are not enough, so people burn whatever comes to hand: waste, plastic, tyres. On the outskirts of the city, mining industries operate at full capacity, while underage workers churn out bricks all day long.
And I’m greeted in Kabul by a familiar wall of pollution. It’s truly shocking how bad the air quality is here.
The measures taken so far to improve Kabul's air
"If nothing is done to reduce pollution, Afghanistan will in the short term be faced with a health catastrophe," warns Erfanullah Shifa, a doctor at Jamhuriat hospital. Some measures have been taken: in addition to Friday, Thursday has also been declared a public holiday to reduce the movement of workers. The Environmental Protection Agency has installed air quality monitoring devices in Kabul, and when fine particulate levels exceed the danger threshold, the government can halt factory operations and suspend public transport services. This was stated by Ezatullah Sediqi, Deputy Director General of Technical Affairs, to Al Jazeera.
The hope is that green spaces will increase: "A very large tree can absorb 150 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year and filter the pollutants present in the air," explains Hiroto Mitsugi, head of the forestry department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Fao). We must come to realise that pollution and the effects of climate change can be more dangerous than wars, as well as giving rise to new ones. As with conflicts, limiting the damage of global warming also requires states to work together to restore peace to the lives of their inhabitants.