Gendered Impacts of Household and Ambient Air Pollution on Child Health: Evidence from Household and Satellite-based Data in Bangladesh

Reducing health risks from household air pollution (HAP) and ambient air pollution (AAP) is a critical issue in achieving sustainable development worldwide, especially in low-income countries. Children are particularly at high risk because their respiratory and immune systems are not fully developed. Previous studies have identified the adverse impacts of air pollution on child health; however, most have neither focused on HAP and AAP simultaneously nor addressed differences in the timing and magnitude of prenatal and postnatal exposure across genders. This article examines the impacts of prenatal and postnatal exposure to ambient particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 ?Em or less (PM2.5) and household use of solid fuels (a main cause of HAP) on child health in Bangladesh. We combine individual-level data from nationally representative surveys with satellite-based high-resolution data on ambient PM2.5. We find that: (1) the use of solid fuels is associated with respiratory illness among girls but not boys; (2) prenatal exposure to ambient PM2.5 adversely affects stunting, without any clear evidence on gender differences; and (3) postnatal exposure consistently increases the risk of both stunting and respiratory illness for both genders. These results provide new evidence on the heterogeneous impacts of AAP and HAP on children in terms of gender and the timing of exposure. The main policy implications are that intervention against HAP would be more effective by targeting girls and that intervention against AAP should cover not only born children but also pregnant mothers. In sum, our findings highlight the importance of protecting women from air pollution and achieving Target 3.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals.