The Environment for Children

This study describes the range of impacts on children of the environment. It also explains what can be done, by communities as well as governments and aid workers, to provide safe and healthy environments for them.

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Each year, millions of children die of environmental causes and many more suffer serious illness or injury. Children are often the most vulnerable to the condition of their environment - their health is an index of its quality - but their wellbeing is rarely given priority by governments or aid agencies. Yet often the problems can be traced back to problems which can be treated straightforwardly and at relatively low cost - poor drinking water or food, or infectious diseases which can be controlled. This book describes the range of impacts on children of the environment. It also explains what can be done, by communities as well as governments and aid workers, to provide safe and healthy environments for them. Conditions in a range of cities in the South are discussed, as well as the problems of pollutants which affect children in the North.