Air pollution contributes to around 8 million deaths a year and is the second leading risk factor for death globally, second only to high blood pressure.
Exposure to air pollution varies across and within countries, and is especially high in Africa and Asia. In Africa, nearly a quarter of a million infants die in the first month of life as a result of indoor and outdoor air pollution.
Despite the high burden of disease, air quality monitoring, regulations, and awareness about air pollution are low in African countries, relative even to other high burden contexts.
This set of projects aims to measure and raise awareness about air pollution, and to inform individual and policy efforts to reduce air pollution, especially in Africa.
Projects
Global AQI Awareness Surveys
Using surveys from 71 countries and original data from over 30,000 respondents in ten countries, this project documents a systematic decoupling between air pollution’s burden and public awareness of it. Across countries, prioritization bears no clear relationship to disease burden.
Information and Air Quality in African Cities
Surveys in Kampala and Nairobi, conducted in 2024 – 2025, examine levels of awareness, knowledge, concern, and policy preferences regarding air pollution, as well as the effects of two common strategies to raise awareness: an informational video and SMS messages about local air pollution exposure.
Kingdom of Buganda Air Quality Project
A project in collaboration with the Kingdom of Buganda, “Empewo Bwe Bulamu” (Air is Life) funded by EPIC and headed by Dorothy Lsoto, combines real-time air quality monitoring with outreach to policymakers in one of Uganda’s oldest kingdoms. A public dashboard hosted by NYUAD’s CITIESAir provides accessible data on PM2.5 levels across the city, while training workshops for County Administrators and youth leaders promote understanding of causes of air pollution and promote the use of data for local decision-making.