Human Rights advocacy
Ensuring environmental justice
Radyan Rahave
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blacksmithinstitution.org |
The problem of urban air pollution has been with us for some time. Our poor people are the most sufferers at the urban at large. The slogan now Metropolitan folks are echoing is that hardly a day passes without the media discovering some community or neighborhood fighting a landfill, incinerator, tannery waste, hospital waste, chemical plant, or some other polluting industry. Just three decades ago, the concept of environmental justice was not registered on the radar screens of environmental, civil rights, or social justice groups. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., went to Memphis in 1968 on an environmental and economic justice mission for the striking black garbage workers. The strikers were demanding equal pay and better work conditions. Of course, Dr. King was assassinated before he could complete his mission. However, that was no end rather just the beginning and the mission is now being shouldered by many who are devoted to ensure a safer world for our future generation.
Children are at risk from ozone. Children also represent a considerable share of the asthma burden. It is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Asthma affects almost 2 million children under 18 years. Although the overall annual age-adjusted hospital discharge rate for asthma among children under 15 years old decreased slightly compared to other children diseases, a 70% increase is recorded in the proportion of hospital admissions related to asthma during the last decade in Bangladesh. Inner-city Children have the highest rates for asthma prevalence, hospitalization, and mortality. In Bangladesh, asthma is one of the leading causes of disability among children aged less than 18 years. Needless to say, the danger of smoking and breathing secondhand smoke around us at densely populous areas is for real and it kills by inflicting cancer-causing substances like formaldehyde, cyanide, carbon monoxide and arsenic.
We have law that will allow people with health problems like heart disease and asthma to work in a smoke free environment but Dhaka seems like a smoke blowing city. It is a city of colossal environmental mismanagement. Frequent environmental pollution by many quarters and smokes from cigarette all around are putting health of city dwellers at risk. Civil society, graduated doctors, nurses, interested groups and other health care professionals who realize how dangerous it is to breathe firsthand or secondhand smoke should create massive movement on THE RIGHT TO BREATHE CLEAN AIR. In Bangladesh, current public and private sources of health finance combined are insufficient to achieve full coverage of health services. On an average, about 3.2 per cent of GDP is allocated to health, nutrition and population (HNP) sectors in Bangladesh. This share of allocation is very low for ensuring the development of a sustainable health system in Bangladesh. Per capita expenditure on health is only about US$ 13.0/year, of which public spending on health care is hovering around US$ 4-5/year. The rest is privately financed through out-of-pocket spending. Now the decision is ours whether we will go for medicines or fight for the right to clean air. Money can buy medication not health.
The writer is a social entrepreneur and development worker; currently working in Development Frontiers. He welcomes feedback at radyanbd@gmail.com.
