LAGOS State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and Ministry of Health has partnered UrbanBetter, advocacy platform, on the Cityzens4CleanAir initiative to address health challenges from pollution.
“Cityzens4CleanAir” is a campaign on clean air and physical activity to support healthy climate-resilient public spaces in Lagos, Accra and Cape Town.
It involves working with youths to run through cities while measuring the quality of air and of the built environment.
The goal is to highlight the impact of air pollution on health and climate change, importance of measuring air quality and the potential of young people as societal change agents for healthy public space.
Commissioner For Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, in a statement said Citizens4ClearAir initiative is to engage and encourage young people to be partners to protect the environment.
General Manager of LASEPA, Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, said the agency had been embarking on advocacy rather than focusing only on enforcement of laws.
Cityzens4CleanAir” campaign leader, and UrbanBetter founder, Dr. Tolullah Oni, decried air pollution, stressing that most Lagosians live in unhealthy public spaces that increase their risk of diseases, such as asthma, pneumonia, heart attack, among others.
She said, World bank statistics show that in 2020, air pollution in Lagos was responsible for thousands of premature deaths, including the deaths of infants younger than 1 year old, adding that the statistics indicated that adults also suffered from heart disease, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases as a result of pollution.
She acknowledged the need for more advocacy grounded in evidence about the various exposures that negatively impact health and the potential role that individuals and organisations can play to ensure the design and use of public spaces reduce pollution and support healthy behaviours like running and walking.
Oni shared that the campaign is led by youths aged 18 to 35 who. In Lagos, these youths have been selected as citizen scientists who designed the running routes in a workshop organised by UrbanBetter on 7 – 8 September 2022.
During the Lagos run, which took place on 17 September, they utilized air quality sensors and a smartphone app to record video, photo and audio of the aspects of the built environment that affects their health and performance. The youth will use the data stories they generated to design advocacy campaigns to be implemented in November and beyond.
On September 25, to celebrate the first Car-Free Day in Lagos, Cityzens4CleanAir raised awareness of the need for clean air and healthy public spaces.