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How is air pollution violating your right to a healthy life?
The Consortium for Development Policy Research held a session of its Lahore Policy Exchange on “How is air pollution violating your right to a healthy life?”, on Wednesday, 13th November from 3:30pm to 5:00pm at 19-A FCC Scheme Maratab Ali Road, Gulberg IV, Lahore.
As temperatures decrease in the months from October to January, Punjab’s air quality reaches unhealthy to hazardous levels, visible to citizens as a thick smog. An increase in air pollution directly correlates to an increase in hospital admission rates, especially in the young and the elderly. The high level of smog is neither a new problem, nor one that came without warning, yet there is limited data on pollution, making it difficult to counter the causes and its impact on human health. Amnesty International has declared that the government’s failure to protect people from exposure to hazardous air in Punjab is violating their human rights to life and health.
To discuss the various aspects of this topic, the following panelists were invited:
Mr. Hashim Jawan Bakht, Finance Minister, Punjab Mr. Khalid Sherdil, CEO, Urban Unit, Punjab;
Dr. Agha Ali Akram, Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics, LUMS;
Mr. Ali Ijaz, Deputy Director Environment, District Lahore, Environment Protection Department;
Dr. Zulfiqar Mir, Geriatrician and Palliative Care specialist. Ms. Sara Hayat, Lawyer specialising in climate change law and policy;
Dr. Ijaz Nabi, Board Chairperson, Consortium for Development Policy Research, moderated the session.