Air pollution is an important public health concern for children in Namibia. Fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) is particularly worrying because these tiny particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, contributing to respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because their lungs and other organs are still developing, and they breathe more air relative to their body weight than adults. Globally, air pollution caused an estimated 7.9 million deaths in 2023, highlighting the scale of this public health challenge. In Namibia, important gaps remain in air-quality regulation, including the absence of a legal standard for PM₂. These gaps make stronger monitoring and preventive action particularly important for understanding and reducing children’s exposure to air pollution.
Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because their lungs and other organs are still developing, and they breathe more air relative to their body weight than adult
The smoke in the kitchen
Household cooking is an important source of air-pollution exposure in Namibia, particularly in communities that depend on solid fuels. A Namibia State of Pollution Report highlights the country’s continued dependence on biomass fuels and identifies household fuel use as a source of indoor air pollution. This dependence is particularly evident in some rural communities. For example, the 2023 Population and Housing Census Oshana Regional Profile reports that 44.6% of households in Oshana used wood or firewood as their main cooking fuel, rising to 75% among rural households.
Namibian research also shows respiratory health concerns linked to household cooking. A study in Windhoek found that coughing was associated with the type of fuel used for cooking at home, although it involved adults rather than children. Evidence from elsewhere in Southern Africa strengthens this concern: among adolescent learners in South Africa’s Vhembe District, open-fire cooking was significantly associated with wheezing. Together, these findings raise concern about children’s exposure to household air pollution in Namibia while highlighting an important evidence gap: more Namibia-specific research is needed to understand its respiratory health effects among children.
Not just a rural problem
Air-pollution exposure is not limited to rural households. Urban children may also be exposed to pollutants from traffic, road dust and household activities. Cooking practices can affect children’s exposure regardless of where they live. A study using Demographic and Health Survey data from 30 sub-Saharan African countries found that, among households using solid biomass fuels, children under five living in homes where cooking took place outdoors had lower odds of developing respiratory symptoms and acute respiratory infections than those in households where cooking took place indoors. These protective associations were observed in both rural and urban settings. The findings suggest that reducing children’s exposure requires attention not only to the type of fuel households use but also to how and where cooking takes place.
The policy gap
Namibia already has legislation and programmes that lay a foundation for protecting children from environmental health risks, but important gaps remain. The Environmental Management Act of 2007 provides for the assessment and management of activities that may significantly affect the environment, including air. However, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2025 Namibia Health and Environment Scorecard indicates that Namibia does not have a legal standard for PM₂.₅. At school level, the Basic Education Act of 2020 requires measures to protect learners from environmental threats, including air pollution, and provides for an Integrated School Health Programme. These existing structures provide an opportunity to strengthen air-quality protection through clearer standards, improved monitoring and greater attention to children’s respiratory health.
What needs to happen and who needs to do it
Namibia should prioritise two actions. First, the government should establish and enforce a national PM₂.₅ standard aligned with WHO air-quality guidelines and strengthen air-quality monitoring so it can identify and address exposure.
Second, the Ministry of Health and Social Services, working with the education sector, should strengthen respiratory-health screening and air-quality education through existing school health structures. These efforts should be complemented by measures that help households to transition from polluting fuels to cleaner household energy, particularly in communities where dependence on solid fuels remains high. Namibia already has legislative and institutional structures on which to build; the priority now is to translate them into stronger protection for children. This does not necessarily require building entirely new systems. Stronger coordination between the health, education and environmental sectors could expand existing structures to identify exposure risks, strengthen prevention and ensure that evidence on air pollution informs decisions affecting children’s health.
Namibia already has legislative and institutional structures on which to build; the priority now is to translate them into stronger protection for children.
Every breath counts
Air pollution often goes unnoticed, yet children may encounter it every day in their homes, schools and communities. Namibia already has evidence of key exposure sources and structures that can support stronger action, but significant regulatory and research gaps remain. Establishing clearer air-quality standards, strengthening monitoring and using existing school health structures can help turn evidence into protection. Clean air should not depend on where a child lives or how their household cooks. Protecting children’s lungs today is an investment in Namibia’s health tomorrow.
