Malaria affects more than 500 million people in 90 countries, causing 1.5-2.7 million deaths per year. Poor sanitation in the developing world allows malaria to spread through urban areas. Climate change may enable malaria to re-emerge in Europe. Global pesticide use has resulted in 3.5 million to 5 million acute poisonings a year. Nitrogen run-off from fertilisers can lead to brain damage in children.
Armed conflicts create refugee crises which in turn put pressure on the environment.
In 1995, the number of refugees worldwide hit an all time high of 27.4 million. In 1997 it was 22.7 million. 1999 saw the problem exacerbated by the conflict in Kosovo. Africa is the only continent on which poverty is expected to rise during the next century. 500 million hectares of land have been affected by soil degradation since about 1950.