2022-06-07-世界卫生组织-Environmental_Health_Lebanon_2022_country_profile_2页_191kb

Health and Environment Scorecard: Lebanon

Core Content

This document presents a health and environment scorecard for Lebanon, highlighting the extent of environmental and health challenges, their associated health impacts, and the current policy framework. It covers four main areas: Air Pollution, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), Climate Change, and Chemicals and Radiation, though the latter two are only partially detailed in the provided content.

Air Pollution

Extent of the Problem

• Lebanon's annual mean PM2.5 concentration is 31 μg/m³, which is 6 times the WHO air quality guideline value of 5 μg/m³.
• There is no data on the percentage of the population without access to clean fuels and cooking technologies.

Health Impact

• 16% of deaths from stroke and ischaemic heart disease are attributed to air pollution.
• Air pollution is associated with many other diseases and adverse health outcomes, though specific data for these is not provided in the scorecard.

Policies

• Legal standards for PM2.5 exist.
• There is no data on the existence of a national policy on household energy.

WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene)

Extent of the Problem

• 52% of the population lacks access to safe drinking water.
• 80% of the population lacks access to safe sanitation.

Health Impact

• 42% of deaths from diarrhoea are attributed to unsafe drinking water, sanitation, and inadequate personal hygiene.

Policies

• Financial resources are available for the implementation of national WASH plans.
• Safely managed drinking water and sanitation services are operationalised.
• No data is available on hygiene-related policies.

Climate Change

Extent of the Problem

• Under a high emissions scenario (RCP8.5), 42% of days in Lebanon are projected to be hot days by 2050.
• A hot day is defined as a day where the maximum temperature is among the top 10% of warmest days recorded between 1961 and 1990.

Health Impact

• 13 times more heat-related deaths are expected in 2050 compared to the 1961-1990 period.
• The 65+ age group is projected to experience 25 heat deaths per year by 2050, compared to 2 heat deaths per year before 1990.

Policies

• Lebanon has a national health and climate change plan or strategy.
• The analysis was conducted by the Climatic Research Unit and Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in 2015.

Key Information and Main Points

• Air Pollution: Lebanon's PM2.5 levels are significantly above the WHO guidelines, contributing to a notable proportion of stroke and heart disease deaths.
• WASH: A large portion of the population lacks access to safe drinking water and sanitation, which is a major cause of diarrhoeal diseases.
• Climate Change: High emissions scenarios predict a significant increase in hot days and heat-related deaths, especially among the elderly.
• Policies: While legal standards for air pollution exist, there is a lack of comprehensive data on national policies for household energy, WASH, and hygiene. Lebanon has a national health and climate change strategy, indicating some level of preparedness.
• Data Gaps: Several areas lack data, including the percentage of the population without clean fuels and technology for cooking, and the status of hygiene and chemical regulations.

References

• Air Pollution: WHO global air quality guidelines (2021), WHO SDG Indicator 11.6.2 (2016 data), WHO household air pollution data (2019), WHO air pollution data portal (2016 data), UNEP (2021), WHO Household Energy Policy Repository (continuously updated).
• WASH: WHO, UNICEF: Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2020 data), WHO water, sanitation and hygiene: burden of disease (2016 data), WHO GLAAS 2018/2019 cycle.
• Climate Change: Honda et al. (2014), WHO: Climate change and country profiles.
• Chemicals and Radiation: WHO: Average of 13 International Health Regulations core capacity scores (2020 data), WHO: Mortality rate attributed to unintentional poisonings (2019), WHO: Legally binding controls for lead paint (2021), WHO: World directory of poison centres (2021), UNEP: Minamata Convention on Mercury (2021), WHO: Deaths from melanoma and other skin cancers (2019), IHME: Deaths from residential radon (2019), WHO: Electromagnetic fields (2018), WHO: Legislation on artificial tanning sunbeds (2021), WHO: National radon regulations (2019).
• Occupation: ILOSTAT: informal economy (2022), WHO/ILO: Disease burden from long working hours (2016), WHO/ILO: Joint estimates of the work-related burden of disease and injury (2016), WHO: Occupational health and safety programmes for health workers (2021), ILO ratifications of C155, C161 and C187 (2021).