2023-06-06-世界卫生组织-Environmental_Health_Malta_2023_country_profile_3页_256kb

Summary of Malta Health and Environment Scorecard

Introduction

This scorecard assesses various health and environmental aspects for Malta across domains including air quality, water, sanitation, climate change, chemicals, radiation, occupational health, and health care facilities. It highlights strengths, weaknesses, and areas needing improvement, often noting insufficient data where complete information is unavailable.

Key Areas

Air Pollution

• Maltese PM2.5 levels are 13 μg/m³ annually, exceeding WHO guidelines (5 μg/m³), indicating non-compliance.
• Insufficient data limits assessment of deaths tied to air pollution and specific policies for controlling pollution, such as restrictions on lead paint or regulations for household cooking fuels, though health impacts like stroke and ischemic heart disease are acknowledged.

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH)

• WASH services are inadequate: 16% of rural schools lack safe drinking water and sanitation, and 18% of the urban population faces similar issues. This evaluation may control for childhood diarrheal diseases but is hampered by insufficient funding and data.

Climate Change

• Vulnerable to high emissions scenarios, expected to intensify heat days, with insufficient data on national climate assessments, adaptation plans, or health co-benefits integration.

Chemicals

• International Health Regulations (IHR) capacity for chemical emergencies is low. While committed to controlling lead paint, insufficient data exists on poison centres, tackling mercury, or overall chemical-related health risks, as noted in assessments.

Radiation

• Insufficient data on regulations for electromagnetic fields or artificial tanning devices/sun beds, gender-specific risks, or coverage of national radon rules for dwellings.

Occupational Health

• High rates of work-related deaths and illnesses (25 per 100,000 workers) and injuries. Ratification of key international labor health conventions is incomplete, with varying exposure comparisons.

Health Care Facilities

• Significant data gaps on essential services like WASH, reliable electricity supply, waste management, and climate resilience/sustainability measures, affecting treatment and safety.

Concluding Notes

The scorecard underscores critical issues like non-compliant air quality and gaps in WASH, while climate change points to future risks. However, frequent limitations—often insufficiency of current data—restrict a comprehensive picture and highlight the need for robust data collection and policy action.