New WHO Report Needs Political Buy-In

in Featured General Motorways by Jon C — December 12, 2011 at 10:06 am | 10 comments

A World Health Organisation report released today on transport and the effects on health state the obvious – but it’s a message that needs to be absorbed by our motorway-obsessive politicians.

The report, with an Auckland University staffer as a key researcher, says that rapid transit and safe cycling/walking networks are good for both health and climate – and climate experts should consider more systematically how these strategies can reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector, one of the world’s major contributors to climate change.

The report looked at studies of health outcomes in association with different types of transport investments; transport system use; and land use patterns, and identifying some of the following health-transport linkages:

• increased physical activity among people who walk and cycle regularly as part of their transport routine. Some studies also cited evidence of lower mortality or lower disease incidence from such physical activity, which can help prevent heart disease, some cancers, type 2 diabetes, and some other obesity-related risks
•  reduced risks of premature mortality among people who cycle to work in some major urban studies, even after injury risks are considered; relative risk of mortality was as much as 20-30% lower in studies tracking large populations over time in both Copenhagen and Shanghai
•  lower urban air pollution concentrations and exposures in cities and transport systems that rely heavily upon clean rapid transit and non-motorized transport

•  lower rates of traffic injury in cities with comparatively less travel by private vehicles and more via transit/non-motorized modes; lower injury rates in cycle and pedestrian-friendly areas such as low-speed zones; and lower injury rates among transit users generally
• Reduced noise stress in neighbourhoods where there is a strong emphasis on traffic calming, traffic diversion, and non-motorised transport
•  Strong rapid transit, cycling and walking networks also were found to yield added health benefits for vulnerable groups that typically have less access to private vehicles, including: children/teens, the elderly, women, people with disabilities, and lower wage-earners.

One key finding of the report was that making diesel vehicles a central feature of climate mitigation could generate new health risks from air pollution exposures.
A key researcher was from the University of Auckland.

Dr Jamie Hosking, Public Health Consultant from Auckland University’s School of Population Health, says: “Due to the health gains, well-designed low-carbon transport systems can provide a “win-win” for both developed and developing countries, and for an economic sector with a large carbon footprint. Transport accounts for nearly one-quarter of all direct CO2 emissions worldwide.”

“More compact cities, with mixed-use developments that place homes and businesses near each other, along with improved amenities for walking and cycling, are also strongly associated with better health. These benefits are most important of all for people who lack access to a car.”

While the evidence about increased physical activity from walking and cycling has been well-established as a means of preventing heart disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes, this report looks more carefully at health outcomes in specific settings and transport systems.

The report noted, for instance, a 20-30 percent lower average risk of premature death among cyclists in some major cities, even after injury risks were considered.

The report says that while diesel vehicles are often more fuel-efficient, they also emit comparatively higher levels of small particulates than conventional gasoline engines.

Higher ambient average concentrations of small particulates (PM10, PM2.5) have been linked to comparatively higher rates of premature mortality in many epidemiological studies and WHO Air Quality Guidelines (2005) recommend guideline values for average small particulate concentrations that are far lower than those common in many developing cities today.

Many kinds of climate and transport measures can yield large, immediate, benefits for health, but some climate measures may be very bad for health, for example diesel engines. At the local level, more reliance on diesel can increase relative risks of respiratory and heart disease. Also, better fuels don’t do anything for noise, for physical activity and for safety risks. Public transport and safe cycling and walking do help reduce these risks, too.”

The report reviewed over 300 studies on health outcomes from different types of land transport systems in a “scoping exercise” designed to identify those mitigation measures most closely associated with specific health co-benefits or risks.

One area under the spotlight is South Africa where Jeremy Cronin, South Africa’s Deputy Minister has welcomed the report saying that more than 15,000 people are killed on the roads every year, 40% of them pedestrians, and significant numbers are children of the poor working classes.

In South Africa the average bus trip is about 20-25 kilometres, as compared to London where it’s about 8 kilometres. And that kicks into all of the challenges raised, as there is congestion, long travel distances, and huge pressures on people.

“As government we are trying to reverse this spatial divide, building mixed-use developments, where people can access resources, live and work. And with this report we are better equipped to make the argument more strongly. The solutions are not simple ones, and require cooperation among mitigation, transport and health sectors rather than laying blame.

“Too often in the transport sector, the interventions are very technical. We fail to look at the local and the social dimension. It is essential that we look at building resilient communities, not becoming overly technical in our solutions.

“In South Africa right now, we can’t push people out of their cars yet, as else they can’t get anywhere until we have provided viable alternatives. … So we really welcome this publication as it gives us a better understanding of what we are facing in South Africa on the transport and the health front.”

I look forward to the new transport minister making similar comments and acting on them.

Tags: air quality pollution WHO