Urban settings as a social determinant of health
Immunization campaign in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Fact 1
Approximately one-third of the developing world’s urban population lives in slums, accounting for close to one-quarter of the total global urban population.
Air pollution in Krakow, Poland
Fact 2
Globally, over 90% of the urban population is exposed to PM10 or PM2.5 annual mean levels that exceed WHO Air Quality Guideline values. Air quality is poorest in the Eastern-Mediterranean and South-East Asian regions, followed by Latin America and African countries.
Occupational health in Cambodia
Fact 3
168 million children worldwide are child labourers, accounting for almost 11 per cent of the child population as a whole. In urban settings, child domestic labour is a predominant phenomen.
Air pollution in Thailand.
Fact 4
Children in the poorest 20% urban households of Africa, Americas, Asia and Europe are at least twice as likely to die before their fifth birthday than children in the richest quintile.
Fact 5
Globally, the number of cars and other light duty vehicles is projected to triple between 2000 and 2050; by 2030, the number of vehicles in developing nations is expected to exceed those in developed countries.
Road safety and air pollution in Viet Nam
Fact 6
92% of road traffic deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. These countries have only 53% of the world’s registered vehicles.
Air pollution
Fact 7
Both "mobile" sources (e.g. cars) and "stationary" sources (e.g. smoke stacks) make significant contributions to outdoor air pollution in urban areas. Some major sources include exhaust fumes from vehicles, emissions from manufacturing facilities (e.g. brick kilns), buildings (e.g. for space heating, cooking) and power generation (e.g. coal-fired power plants).
Sanitation in India
Fact 8
One billion people worldwide with no sanitation facility whatsoever continue to practice open defecation, with no dignity or privacy. Although most of them live in rural areas, the number in urban areas is gradually increasing.
Body weight and measure, baby, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Fact 9
The prevalence of stunting (moderate or severe) among the poorest 20% urban children is four times greater than among the richest 20% urban children in the Americas (including eight countries). In other regions, too, children in the poorest urban households are 2–3 times as likely to be stunted as children in the richest urban households.
Cholera in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Fact 10
Although coverage of sanitation in urban areas has increased in the last decade, the population without sanitation in urban areas actually increased significantly by 215 million to 756 million in 2012.
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