What is Environment:
Environment is the physical
surroundings in which we live. It can either consist of living factors or
non-living factors. The environment provides us with conditions that facilitate
growth and development and also with a risk of damage and danger.
It consists of everything
real around us such as sunlight, soil, air, water, rains, mountains etc. The
surroundings we dwell in is subjected to constant change, these factors are
majorly contributed by human activity.
For instance, climate
change. A constant balance needs to be maintained as all the components of the
environment are correlated where a change in one component has a certain impact
on other components eventually, if not immediately depending upon the severity.
Environment
and Human Health:
Living entities, directly or indirectly
depend upon their environment for energy requirements and to sustain life.
Some of these requirements are pure water,
clean air, unadulterated and nutritious food, disease-free community to live
etc. as these factors are known to add to the longevity in human history.
It is also a known fact that sanitation,
agriculture, treated water, personal and community hygiene have a visible
impact on human health.
However, one cannot overlook the fact that
apart from supporting and nurturing human life, it can also inflict diseases.
One of the most common cause for death rate is the lack of fundamental
necessities.
The environmental risks can pump up the
chances of contracting heart diseases, cancers and various other illnesses.
Untreated drinking water, poor hygiene, improper sanitation is perceived to
cause infectious diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dengue etc.
The environment is a natural world in which
we all are living today. It relates to all the living and non-living things
(biotic and abiotic components) surrounding us. There are different types of
environment, which have a great impact on human health.
On a daily basis, we all interact with the
environment. Therefore, it is very much essential to keep our environment healthy
in order to protect our lives from different environmental hazards.
The environment impacts on
human health includes physical, chemical and biological hazards. Air, water,
soil, sound and land pollution are the major cause of illness in all humans.
Importance
of Health:
Health is a state in which wellness of all
the three aspects i.e., mental, physical and social are considered. To stay
healthy one needs to have a sound mind too along with the physical
perspectives. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, one is required to adopt a
healthy diet and an active lifestyle.
Humans are one of the most important
components in an ecosystem that significantly contribute to the well-being of
other environmental components as well, that can either be living or non-living
such as plants, animals, climate etc.
One’s health is majorly controlled and
influenced by its immediate surroundings. Healthy individuals are usually free
from almost all the health disorders and are least susceptible to diseases.
Hence, increasing the life span thereby decreasing
greatly the chances of suffering from pain, discomfort, uneasiness which can
not only affect one physically but can have an impact on the mental ability
too.
Normalcy and excellence at work are
attributes that make for a favourable and a valuable asset in society. Physical
fitness can boost one’s confidence as it makes one feel better about
themselves.
It can also keep you on your toes to perform
daily activities without any ado or discomfort. Overall, wellness and health
bring about radical growth in the quality of life.
Why Environmental
Health is Important?
Maintaining a
healthy environment is central to increasing quality of life and years of
healthy life. Globally, 23% of all deaths and 26% of deaths among children
under age 5 are due to preventable environmental factors.Environmental factors are diverse and far
reaching.
They include:
·
Exposure to hazardous substances in the air,
water, soil, and food
·
Natural and technological disasters
·
Climate change
·
Occupational hazards
·
The built environment
Poor environmental
quality has its greatest impact on people whose health status is already at
risk. Therefore, environmental health must address the societal and
environmental factors that increase the likelihood of exposure and disease.
The Science: Environmental Health and Hazards-
All organisms depend on their environments
for energy and materials needed to sustain life: clean air, potable water,
nutritious food, and safe places to live. For most of human history, increases
in longevity were due to improved access to these necessities.
Advances in agriculture, sanitation, water
treatment, and hygiene have had a far greater impact on human health than
medical technology. Although the environment sustains human life, it can also
cause diseases. Lack of basic necessities is a significant cause of human
mortality.
Environmental hazards increase the risk of
cancer, heart disease, asthma, and many other illnesses. These hazards can be
physical, such as pollution, toxic chemicals, and food contaminants, or they
can be social, such as dangerous work, poor housing conditions, urban sprawl,
and poverty.
Unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation and
hygiene are responsible for a variety of infectious diseases, such as
schistosomiasis, diarrhoea, cholera, meningitis, and gastritis.
In 2015, approximately 350,000 children under
age 5 (mostly in the developing world) died from diarrheal diseases related to
unsafe drinking water, and approximately 1.8 billion people used drinking water
contaminated with faces. More than 2 billion people lacked access to
basic sanitation.
By
contrast, activities that promote health and extend human life can have adverse
environmental effects.
For
example, food production causes environmental damage from pesticides and fertilizers,
soil salinization, waste produced by livestock, carbon emissions from food
manufacturing and transportation, deforestation, and over-fishing. Health care
facilities also have adverse environmental impacts.
Hospitals
use large quantities of electricity and fossil fuels and produce medical
wastes. To prevent some diseases, it may be necessary to damage the
environment.
For
example, malaria was eradicated in the United States and other developed
nations in the 1940s and 50s as a result of draining wetlands and spraying DDT
to kill mosquitoes.
A
reduction in mortality from starvation or disease can lead to overpopulation,
which stresses the environment in much different ways–increasing use of fossil
fuels, clearing of land, generating pollution and waste, and so on.
Environment as a major Determinant of Health:
Each year, 13 million or
nearly one quarter of all deaths worldwide result from preventable
environ-mental causes relating mainly to water, sanitation and hygiene; indoor
and outdoor pollution; harmful use of chemicals such as pesticides; and climate
change.
These risk factors, which
are both avoidable and preventable, play a role in more than 80 per cent of
diseases that are routinely reported to the World Health Organization.
Children, especially from
poor families are most vulnerable to illness and death due to these diseases.
However, simple and cost-effective interventions are available, which, if
implemented early and effectively, can prevent most of these deaths.
“Integrate the health concerns into
strategies, policies and programmes for poverty eradication and sustainable
development, reduce respiratory diseases and other health impacts resulting
from air pollution, with particular attention to women and children.
By strengthening regional and national
programmes including through public-private partnerships; Strengthening and
supporting efforts for the reduction of emissions through the use of cleaner
fuels and modern pollution control techniques.
Assisting developing countries in providing
affordable energy to rural communities for the use of which affect the health
of women and children”.
Pace of development in today's world has led
to rapid urbanization, deforestation, industrial pollution etc.
The adverse impacts of which are increasingly
being observed among communities worldwide in the form of water borne diseases,
vector born and reemerging infectious diseases, chemical toxicities, cancers
etc.
The mechanisms for managing these such as
Environmental Impact Assessments, often leave human health impacts and risks
due to lack of expertise in Health Impact Assessment.
In regard to the same, Indian Environmental
Society provides Target oriented, issue based health awareness and training
programs on all areas of Environmental health.
Written by - Sakshi Chauhan
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