KABUL (SW) – At least one million children got infected with various respiratory diseases last winter due to air pollution, said an official.
15 June is the World Environment Day. In this connection, the National Environmental Protection Agency celebrated World Environment Day with the slogan “Fighting Plastic Pollution”.
In this program, Hafez Azizul Rahman, the general director of the National Environmental Protection Agency, mentioned climate changes, drought, floods and the construction of unplanned buildings as the main factors of environmental pollution in Afghanistan.
He urged the industrialists of the country to prevent the production of plastic products. The general director of the National Environmental Protection Agency added: “We ask the industrialists and factory managers to gradually prevent the use of plastic bags from among the 200 types of plastic products and to use paper bags instead.”
Meanwhile, the officials of the Ministry of Public Health, in this program, said they are concerned about the increase in air pollution in the capital, Kabul saying that air pollution causes cancer among citizens. Qalandar Ebad, Acting Minister of Public Health, said that last winter, more than one million children were infected with respiratory diseases. He added: “Last winter, as a result of air pollution, the number of children who were affected by respiratory diseases reached a million.”
However, some concerned residents of the city want citizens to take part in protecting the environment. Aman Ahmadzai, a resident of Kabul city, said that people should also try to protect the environment. He added: “Everyone should contribute to the cleanliness of the city, and this is not only the responsibility of the government, but it concerns all of us people.”
In the same way, Abdul Hadi, who is an employee of Kabul Municipality, asked the citizens to prevent the excessive use of plastic bags. He said: “In the whole city, plastic is thrown and burned everywhere, and it harms all the people. People should not use plastic bags and use paper bags instead.”
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has started a campaign against plastic pollution in Kandahar on the occasion of the World Environment Day. UNAMA has said that it will continue this campaign in its other offices in Afghanistan as well.
ENDS
