On Oct 1, a panel of world leaders and key experts in the fields of pollution management, environmental health and sustainable development gathered in Geneva to launch the Global Commission on Pollution, Health and Development.

Like the Stern Review, which brought the issue of climate change to the fore, the Commission report, due out next year, may be the game-changer the world needs to deal with the largest cause of death in developing countries.

“We need to dispel the myth that pollution is inevitable. In fact, pollution is a problem that can be solved in our lifetime,” said Commission co-chairman Richard Fuller, President, Pure Earth.

This editorial published in The Lancet, one of the world’s most prestigious and widely read medical journals, explains the urgent need for the Commission.

The Global Commission on Pollution, Health and Development is an initiative of The Lancet, the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, with coordination from the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank. Learn more at: www.commissiononpollution.org