PREVREMENI MORTALITET U SRBIJI – UTICAJ AEROZAGAĐENJA I PANDEMIJE COVID-19
PREMATURE MORTALITY IN SERBIA – THE EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION AND COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Summary/Abstract: Premature mortality in Serbia is a problem that is often overlooked. The paper quantifies the premature mortality in Serbia, the total premature mortality, as well as the mortality caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and PM2.5 air pollution. Detailed mortality (vital statistics based) data is combined with remote sensing data of PM2.5 estimate how affected are the municipalities of Serbia by air pollution. The results show that Serbia loses over half a million years of potential life per year. Premature mortality due to PM2.5 air pollution is most prominent in municipalities of Vojvodina (North Banat). Results indicate that the initial year of pandemic does not paint a full picture when it comes to premature mortality caused by COVID-19. The paper offers recommendations in the form of a needed paradigm shift when it comes to population policy (instead of a pronatalist one – to one that focuses on improvement of public health as a population policy), revision of strategic documents, focus on prevention and opening data as a cheap way to encourage research, inform and educate the public.

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