Research Shows Children Breathe Polluted Air also in School or Kindergarten

Research on air quality conducted in Gostivar, Struga, Kumanovo, Strumica, and Kavadarci shows that children breathe polluted air outdoors, but also indoors, that is, when they’re in school or kindergarten. That, according to the analysis, affects their ability to concentrate and study.

The document, prepared in the frames of a UNDP project, with financial support from Sweden, shows that due to the limited resources, no ministry can solve the air pollution problem on its own.

Dejan Mirakovski, Rector of Goce Delcev University, the institution where the analysis had been carried out, said at Monday’s presentation that air pollution level was almost twice the limit recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). He added that the indoor issue was probably a bigger problem especially in the winter, when people spent more time indoors.

Education and Science Minister Vesna Janevska stated that though a lot couldn’t be done in the short run, long-term plans to deal with the problem could be created.

Health Minister Arben Taravari stated that starting from 2025, the heating method of 12 institutions currently using mazut and oil would be changed. Swedish Ambassador Ami Larsson Jain and UNDP Resident Representative Armen Grigoryan said the research’s findings would help the five Municipalities deal with the problem.

The former added that every step on the path built the driving momentum towards achieving change, expressing also gratitude to the local self-government units for the co-funding of the planned investments amounting to nearly one million euros. The latter stated that the UNDP was open to cooperation also with other municipalities and state organs.