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Eliminating Air Pollution in Vietnam

Air Pollution in Vietnam
Air pollution in Vietnam causes major health issues that include respiratory disorders and heart diseases. There are also economic consequences that lower Gross Domestic Production (GDP) and slow down the entire growth of the country. People in Vietnam have heavily discussed the air pollution issue in recent years.

Effects of Air Pollution in Vietnam

  1. Air Pollution: Air pollution in Vietnam consists of fine particulates that can cause respiratory disorders, lung cancer, heart disease and stroke among many other conditions. Generally, exhaust from cars and motorbikes, factory emissions and coal plants cause air pollution in Vietnam.
  2. Causes of Air Pollution: According to the National Economics University (NEU) conference, the use of fossil fuels for 90 percent of power generation is the cause of Vietnam’s polluted air quality. The conference also mentioned that Vietnam is taking on manufacturing activities with high pollution emissions from more developed countries due to less industrial regulations and lower costs. Consequently, this causes an increase in smog and air pollution. Additionally, the United States Consulate and UNICEF Vietnam funded the Ho Chi Minh City governance to place 13 air monitors around the city. In the meantime, the city itself is replacing dated motorbikes.
  3. Air Pollution Lowers Vietnam’s GDP: According to Chairman Miura Nobufumi of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) in Vietnam, the air pollution crisis keeps foreign investors from investing in the country, which in turn diminishes the country’s economy. The country’s GDP in 2019 has decreased from 7.08 percent to 7.02, which translates to $10.82-$13.63 USD. The Vietnamese government is working to implement environmental rules, regulations and standards.
  4. Over 60,000 People Die in Vietnam Each Year: There were about 71,365 people in Vietnam who died of air pollution in 2017 which places Vietnam in fourth place within the region. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment reported that the Air Quality Index (AQI) was over 300, which means that pollution was at a very dangerous level. As a result, experts advised that people stay indoors. There were also fine air particles (less than 2.5 microns) that elevated three times above the acceptable threshold affecting people’s lungs and hearts. The Vietnam Minister of Natural Resources and Environment organized a system to address air pollution.
  5. Negligence Regarding Air Pollution: Amidst the dangerous air-quality readings with an average air-quality-index (AQI) of 202-240 in Hanoi, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has only acknowledged the AQI of 256. It sent out an unintended announcement that the air quality would negatively affect human health. The Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA) did not speak up at all. News reporters asked to contact the northern Center for Environmental Monitoring (CEM). In the meantime, CEM’s director said she would get in touch with VEA to make a public statement. In the end, the local authorities did not implement any coordinated effort, emergency or preventative measures.
  6. Easing Air Pollution: Dr. Hoang Tung Duong, who is the Vietnam Clean Air Partnership (VCAP), stated that there should be close monitoring of businesses that emit large amounts of smoke and dust through their manufacturing activities and practices. He also recommends a limit on the use of motorbikes during rush hours and that people should cut back on driving during certain hours of the day in order to reduce vehicle emissions.
  7. Addressing the Air Pollution Issue: There are organizations around Vietnam that are helping address the country’s air pollution issue. The Vietnam Association for Conservation of Natural Resources and Environment (VACNE) formed the Vietnam Clean Air Partnership (VCAP). This partnership gathers partners and individuals to raise awareness and carry out activities to address air pollution. Partners include the cities of Danang, Haiphong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, along with organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency (HEPA), the Southern Regional Hydrometeorological Center (SRHMC), the Vietnam Register, the Institute for Environment and Resources (CEFINEA) and the Vietnam National University. VACNE and its partners worked with Clean Air Asia and U.N. Environment to draft a policy for vehicles, such as motorbikes and cargo-loaders. The policy should ensure a standard for vehicle exhaustion, fuel emission and battery-use efficiency.

There are many negative consequences of air pollution. As a result, many organizations around the world are helping Vietnam with this issue. Additionally, Vietnam is developing policies and measures to reduce the amount of vehicle and industrial emissions as well as household energy usage. Positive prospects are on the horizon due collaborations between local governments in Vietnam and foreign organizations.

– Hung Le
Photo: Flickr

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Life Expectancy in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Life expectancy in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country located in the Balkan region of Eastern Europe. The country has been one of the center points of the Yugoslavian Wars that tore across the area in the 1990s. It was the location of countless atrocities, such as the massacre at Srebrenica in 1995. The impact of these events still exists across the country today, despite 25 years of improvements and advancements. Part of this impact was the reduction in life expectancy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Bosnia and Herzegovina

  1. Life Expectancy: Life expectancy in Bosnia and Herzegovina is around 77 years. This is more than most of the other countries in the Balkans, surpassed only by Greece, Montenegro and Croatia. However, in the European Union, life expectancy is the average of 81 or the Balkan average of 77. All of the Balkan countries are above the world average of 72 years despite genocide and war afflicting them.
  2. Instability: The country’s average life expectancy was on a linear growth before the wars and peaked at 71.6 in 1987. However, the loss of life and general prosperity from the instability of late Yugoslavia followed by the violence of the wars and genocide caused a massive dip in this figure. In fact, its life expectancy did not return to prewar figures until 1995.
  3. Reduced Life Expectancy: Before the war, the population peaked at 4.5 million people in 1989. In contrast, up to an estimated 300,000 fatalities massively dented this figure. By 1996, a quarter of the pre-war population displaced while around 1.2 million fled the country in a mass migration. Additionally, high-income families generally have a higher life expectancy which links to the reason behind the life expectancy loss.
  4. Life Expectancy Growth: Life expectancy in Bosnia and Herzegovina has grown by 6.6 percent from 1996 until 2017. This is slower than the world growth of 8.7 percent in the same time frame. This is likely due to poor economic growth and countless health issues.
  5. Air Pollution: Large amounts of air pollution result in many premature deaths. It also reduces general life expectancy in Bosnia and Herzegovina by at least 1.1 years overall. Poor control over energy generation pollution output has cost the people of the country 130,000 years of life overall in the last 10 years. This is due to poorer respiratory health and increased incidences of lung cancers. To combat this, cities and decisionmakers within the country are coordinating with an organization like the U.N. Environment. They will switch energy production from polluting sources such as old coal generators to renewables. For example, the project District Heating in Cities Initiative is attempting to replace the heating oil system of the city Banja Luka to biomass generators. This will cut emissions by 90 percent.
  6. Life Expectancy Disparities Between Genders: The differences in life expectancy between genders are significant. As men live an average of 74.6 years, while women live five years more on average at 79.5 years. This is likely caused by various social conditions such as the expectation for men to take on more dangerous jobs. In addition, suicide rates are disparately high in men compared to women.
  7. Death Rate: Bosnia has a very high death rate. It is the 39th highest in the world at 10 deaths for every 1,000 people. This is due to air pollution, destroyed infrastructure from the war and water shortages. Also, many areas of the country have poorly rebuilt electric networks and poor train lines or road systems. Due to this, reactive health care has suffered in many areas, making it impossible for people to get to hospitals. However, with investments and concentrated efforts, this has been changing for the better. As the country rebuilds train lines and improves roads, motorway fatalities have gone from dozens a year to simply two in 2014.
  8. The Poverty Rate: The poverty rate in the country is 2.2 percent, but lack of health does not contribute greatly to its poverty rate. This means many of those in poverty do not struggle with health care issues. This is due to the fact that the government provides health insurance to even the unemployed, reducing out-of-pocket costs for the country’s poor on these issues.
  9. Health Care Spending: The majority of health care spending in the country is government spending. Around 71 percent of all health care spending is public funding. Of the 29 percent private expenditures, nearly all of it is purchases of household health materials such as bandages and medicine. Meanwhile, the country spends 1 percent on other expenses, indicating that these private expenses are less likely to be costly affairs that may serve to hurt the financial stature of citizens.
  10. Preventative Care: Preventative care is minimal in the country as programs like education and advising programs, immunization programs, epidemiological monitoring and disease risk control and disaster response programs only make up 1.8 percent of total health care funding. This likely plays a large part in the death rate as preventative care is extremely important in ensuring long lifespans. However, the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union have been working in tandem with NGO projects to boost immunizations in the country including World TB Day, Immunization Week, Anti-TB Week and World AIDS Day. Additionally, the aim is to build trust in vaccines amongst the general populace.

These 10 facts show how damaging the war has been on the general health and lifespan of the population. While the years since have seen improvements, they have not been enough to bring Bosnia and Herzegovina to par with the rest of the world. Damaged public infrastructure, lack of focus on preventative care and deteriorating environmental conditions are some of the primary reasons behind the slow increase of the country’s life expectancy.

– Neil Singh
Photo: Flickr