{"id":20030,"date":"2026-10-28T20:15:41","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T15:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/?p=20030"},"modified":"2026-10-28T20:15:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T15:15:41","slug":"air-pollution-disproportionately-af","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/2026\/10\/28\/air-pollution-disproportionately-af\/","title":{"rendered":"Air pollution disproportionately affects poor, Dr Musadik Malik"},"content":{"rendered":"

Air pollution disproportionately affects poor, Dr Musadik Malik <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Federal Minister announces $10 million clean-air startup fund<\/p>\n

ISLAMABAD : (Khawar Abbas Shah)\u00a0 Federal Minister for Climate Change Dr Musadik Malik on Wednesday said air pollution disproportionately affected poor and vulnerable communities, including children, street vendors and farmers, while affluent households could afford protective measures such as air purifiers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Addressing the Pakistan National Clean Air Conference 2026, the minister<\/a> described air pollution as a human-induced crisis driven by policy choices and economic activities, stressing that its health and economic consequences were borne most heavily by those with limited resources to protect themselves.<\/p>\n

The minister said air pollution imposed an economic cost equivalent to 6.5 per cent of Pakistan\u2019s gross domestic product (GDP), reflecting the burden of illness, hospitalisation and related financial pressures on affected families.<\/p>\n

Highlighting the impact on public health, Dr Musadik Malik referred to patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who required oxygen and medication. He also cited a UNICEF report on the harmful effects of air pollution on children\u2019s lung health and growth.<\/p>\n

He emphasised that the effects of smog varied according to people\u2019s socioeconomic circumstances, noting that while some households could install air purifiers, schoolchildren travelling through polluted air and workers earning their livelihoods outdoors remained directly exposed.<\/p>\n

Street vendors, farmers and other outdoor workers were among those facing heightened exposure to polluted air, he said, adding that farmers involved in crop-residue burning were also affected by the resulting pollution.<\/p>\n

The minister stressed the need to recognise that communities contributing to pollution through agricultural practices were themselves suffering its consequences, underscoring the importance of practical solutions that addressed both environmental challenges and the livelihoods of affected populations.<\/p>\n

Describing clean air as a policy challenge rather than an unavoidable natural disaster, Dr Musadik Malik said industrial activity and other human actions had contributed to the crisis, making effective policy interventions essential to its resolution.<\/p>\n

He cited the construction of the Karakoram Highway through challenging mountainous terrain and efforts to control dengue as examples of problems that could be addressed through determined action. Referring to China\u2019s experience, he said Beijing and Shanghai had progressed from being among the world\u2019s most polluted cities to becoming major exporters of solar technology.<\/p>\n

The minister said Pakistan could similarly make progress towards cleaner air through effective policy implementation, technological innovation and cooperation with development partners.<\/p>\n

Announcing a planned $10 million fund for clean-air startups, Dr Musadik Malik said the government had decided to establish the fund from its own limited resources after seeking support from development partners. He said approval of the fund\u2019s board was expected the following day.<\/p>\n

He described the proposed initiative as an obligation to future generations rather than a grant or loan, reaffirming the government\u2019s commitment to pursuing clean-air measures with or without external support.<\/p>\n

The minister acknowledged the contributions of development partners, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNICEF and German development agency GIZ, in supporting climate-related initiatives.<\/p>\n

Emphasising the need to move beyond declarations, Dr Musadik Malik said the clean-air agenda required engineering solutions, effective policies and financial commitments rather than slogans.<\/p>\n

He reiterated the government\u2019s resolve to work with development partners to implement practical measures aimed at improving air quality, reducing pollution and protecting public health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Air pollution disproportionately affects poor, Dr Musadik Malik Federal Minister announces $10 million clean-air startup fund ISLAMABAD : (Khawar Abbas Shah)\u00a0 Federal Minister for Climate Change Dr Musadik Malik on Wednesday said air pollution disproportionately affected poor and vulnerable communities, including children, street vendors and farmers, while affluent households could afford protective measures such as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2297,2298],"tags":[3166,2791,3491],"class_list":["post-20030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate-change","category-latest-news","category-pakistan","tag-air-pollution","tag-climate-change","tag-dr-musadik-malik"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20030"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20032,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20030\/revisions\/20032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newspulse.com.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}