Health impacts of air pollution

Many cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina suffer from air pollution, especially in winter. The main sources of pollutants are traffic, industrial activities and households using solid fuels. It is estimated that around 3 300 people die prematurely each year in Bosnia and Herzegovina from exposure to particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM_2.5), and that 9% of total annual mortality can be attributed to air pollution. Entity-level legislation aims to control the quality of fuels, limit emissions and introduce air quality planning. As the problem requires a multisectoral approach and significant financial resources, achieving these goals is not easy.

Air quality in Bosnia and Herzegovina is monitored through a network of stations, and the Air Pollution Index is used by hydrometeorological services and public health institutions (at the entity level and, in the case of Sarajevo, at the cantonal level) to give health advice to the general population and higher-risk groups. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is still no monitoring of the health risks of exposure to air pollution. In order to better understand the impact on health, steps are being taken to start using the World Health Organization software and models in the system of public health institutions of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska.