Reposted from Nairobi Planning Innovations
An Interview with Public Health Expert Kanyiva Muindi
Nairobi, like many of the world’s cities, is facing a growing problem of air pollution which can have very serious health impacts. Recently, NPI had a chance to talk to one of the city’s public health and air quality experts Kanyiva Muindi. Kanyiva is a researcher at the Nairobi-based African Population and Health Research Center who is finishing her PhD at Umea University in Sweden. She is passionate about cleaning Nairobi’s air and took some time to explain why this is important.
NPI: As a public health expert can you explain to us why Nairobians should be concerned about the quality of the air they breathe?
Air is an essential public good that each of us must breathe, whatever state it is in. It is each person’s responsibility to take action to ensure the air is clean. One may wonder why bother about air quality. Research indicates that in a few years, most of us will be living in an urban area and that urban air pollution is the biggest environmental risk factor faced in today’s world and a leading environmental cause of cancer. In 2012 alone, air pollution (both outdoor and indoor) led to 7 million premature deaths globally (equivalent to about 64 planes carrying 300 passengers and crew crashing each day). In addition, air pollution has been implicated in the development/aggravation of cardiovascular illnesses such as hypertension and heart disease. Respiratory illnesses including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are also caused/worsened by poor air quality. With Kenyans waking up to news of increasing cases of cancers, and many of us suffering from or having a person close to us suffering from a chronic respiratory illness such as asthma or COPD, we search for reasons why these diseases seem to be getting too common… the answers might lie in the air we breathe.
NPI: In a nutshell, what do we know about Nairobi’s air quality?
There is scattered evidence about the air quality in Nairobi and all seems to point to poor air quality with levels of particulate matter being several fold above the World Health Organisation guidelines.
NPI: Which are the most vulnerable populations in terms of impacts of poor air quality?
All individuals are vulnerable to the impacts of poor air quality, however, children, the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions such as heart disease or asthma are at elevated risk given poor air quality. In Nairobi city, I would also add unique groups such as hawkers, traffic police officers, matatu/bus crew and beggars who are exposed to high volumes of traffic for most part of each working day as among those most vulnerable to the impacts of poor air quality.
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