Billions of people around the world will head to the polls this year. Voters in 80 countries, including the United States, Mexico, and India, will choose their next government in 2024, shaping the future of our uncertain world.
An overwhelming majority of these voters share an unhappy backdrop to their day-to-day lives: More than 9 in 10 of us are exposed to unsafe, unhealthy air.
It is a silent killer that strikes disproportionately among marginalized communities. People on the lowest incomes are most likely to live and work in areas that are badly polluted, and they pay the heaviest price. Children under 5 who live in a lower-income country are 60 times more likely to die from air pollution.
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About the author
Helen Clark
Helen Clark was the prime minister of New Zealand for three successive terms from 1999 to 2008, after an extensive parliamentary and ministerial career. In April 2009, Clark became administrator of the United Nations Development Programme. She was the first woman to lead the organization and served two terms. In July 2020, she was appointed by the director-general of the World Health Organization as a co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.
