Nearly five percent of preventable deaths and disease were found to be caused by indoor air pollution in 21 countries worldwide, according to the U.N.'s WHO.
This is the first time that estimates have been made in each country to determine the data.
Most of those being affected are women and children with most of these being found in Africa.
More than three billion people worldwide are dependent on solid fuels, including coal and biomass, or wood, dung and crop residues, which are to blame for the ill health effects of exposure to indoor air pollution.
These indoor pollution exposures have been linked to many diseases, especially pneumonia in children and in adults with chronic respiratory diseases.
"Solutions are available, and it is our international responsibility to promote the health and well-being of those affected...," said Susanne Weber-Mosdorf, WHO's Assistant Director-General for Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments.
"The prevention potential is enormous," adds Weber-Mosdorf.
It has been determined that approximately 1.2 billion deaths each year within merely 11 countries are due to indoor air pollution. A total of 1.5 billion deaths each year occur internationally.
The need to replacing solid fuels with cleaner and more efficient ones could eradicate these health risks. It has been suggested that cleaner, fuel-efficient technologies such as biogas, liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene could replace the currently used solid fuels, and basically eliminate indoor air pollution.
The WHO plans to use these findings to create preventive measures and assessments for the future.
