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HEI's Global Health Program
Air pollution affects millions of adults and children around the world, with an estimated 6.7 million deaths globally from air pollution. Each year, exposure to air pollution can lead to death and disability as well as loss of productivity due to a variety of health effects including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and neonatal disorders. HEI's Global Health program is engaged in several projects around the world applying science to better understand air pollution's health impact. The program receives generous financial support from foundations, philanthropies, and international organizations.
Nine out of ten people on Earth are exposed to harmful levels of PM2.5 pollution, with the highest exposures occurring in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Join us at 10 AM US Eastern Time on the 7th of the month for the rest of the year as we go live across our social media platforms for our Science on the 7th series. Experts will join us for a conversation aiming to break down air quality issues. Watch previous discussions:
Ongoing Projects
State of Global Air
HEI’s annual State of Global Air report and interactive website bring into one place a comprehensive analysis of the air quality and health levels and multi-year trends for more than 200 countries in the world. The report and website provide the public, journalists, policymakers, and scientists access to meaningful and reliable information about air pollution exposure and global health impacts. These resources are free and available to the public. More.
Air Pollution and Health in East Africa
HEI is working with collaborators in East Africa, especially Kenya and Uganda to assess and communicate the health effects of air pollution in East Africa
CAPHER-India
In collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-Delhi), HEI is supporting a national research network focused on air pollution and health effects research in India - Collaborative on Air Pollution and Health Effects Research (CAPHER-India). This project is supported by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation. More.
Air Pollution and Health in Southeast Europe
For decades, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels in the countries in Southeastern Europe have remained higher than in other countries in the region. HEI is working on a project aimed at increasing understanding of air pollution and health effects in Southeast Europe with a particular focus on Bulgaria and Serbia. In collaboration with scientists and practitioners in the region, HEI is assembling and synthesizing local evidence on health effects and impacts in the context of national, regional, and global air pollution, as well as sources and burden of disease and key knowledge gaps that limit policy action. This project is supported by the Clean Air Fund.
Air Quality and Health in Europe
In Europe, HEI continues to work in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) on Air Quality Guidelines and has funded various epidemiologic studies on the health effects of traffic-related air pollution and noise and on health effects at low exposure concentrations. In January 2020, HEI co-organized a meeting in Brussels alongside WHO, International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE), European Respiratory Society (ERS), and the European Commission to review the latest science on major pollutants as a key step in evaluating whether to update Europe’s air quality policies. Our air pollution and health program is currently funding several research studies of air pollution, traffic, and health in Europe.
