Smoke from Wood and Animal Dung Causes Nearly 25,000 Infant Deaths Every Year in Pakistan

AKU and World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, held an international seminar in September titled ‘Indoor Air Pollution from Household Fuels’, which highlighted the harmful effects on poor mothers and children from smoke generated by biomass fuels. The seminar had special significance for Pakistan as more than 80 per cent of households in the country use traditional biomass fuels, such as wood and animal dung.

The seminar attracted broad participation from individuals and organisations with interest in child health, environmental sciences, and alternative energy sources. Prominent speakers included
Dr Nigel Bruce from University of Liverpool, UK; Ms Kehkeshan Beenish from United Nations Development Program (UNDP); Dr Martin Weber from WHO; and Dr Zafar Fatmi and Dr Rehana Siddiqui from AKU’s Department of Community Health Sciences. Deliberations were heard on complications resulting from exposure to smoke of biomass fuels, such as acute respiratory infections and low birth-weight babies. The role of energy for sustainable development also featured in discussions.

Dr Anita Zaidi, Associate Professor of Paediatrics at AKU and chief conference organiser, presented the results of a study conducted in collaboration with colleagues from Harvard University and University of California at Berkeley. She said that indoor air pollution from biomass fuels is a major risk factor for child health, causing an estimated 25,000 infant deaths annually in Pakistan from pneumonia that follows as a complication. Furthermore, there are serious consequences on female literacy as female children are mostly burdened with tasks such as wood gathering and animal dung preparation and therefore are not sent to schools. As families depend on young children for these time-consuming activities, the practice reinforces high fertility, in turn contributing to high population growth.

Many NGOs working on rural development and environmental problems were prominent in the seminar, including World Wildlife Fund, Escorts Foundation, Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, Rural Development Project Haripur, Caritas, and others. The NGOs shared their experiences of working in rural areas of Pakistan where they are increasing access to better stoves, alternate fuels, and improved housing with better ventilation. Speakers also discussed low-cost solutions to the problems of indoor air pollution exposure.