Clean Air Programme

According to UNEP (2022), Africa is undergoing both environmental and epidemiological transition. Household air pollution (HAP) remains the predominant form of air pollution, but it is declining overall. Air pollution in Africa is comprised of Household Air Pollution (HAP) and Ambient Air pollution (AAP). The relative contribution of each type varies from country to country. HAP is declining across the continent as families move away from using solid fuels such as wood, straw, and animal dung, towards using cleaner fuels such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). By contrast, levels of Ambient Air Pollution (AAP) are beginning to increase.
The objective of the programme is
to undertake the following:
- Inform national and county policies and legislations to scale access to and adaptation of clean household energy
- Demonstrate the positive impacts of clean air on health and climate
- Strengthen health systems to empower locally-led prevention of urban air pollution
Our work entails the following:
- Air Quality Monitoring: This involves monitoring the level of common air pollutants in both indoor and outdoor settings. Sensor based instruments and air quality monitoring systems are used in outdoor ambient applications.
- Air Quality Modelling: This provides predictive capacity and involves mathematical simulations of how air pollutants disperse and react in the atmosphere to affect ambient air quality. We seek to address technical capacity and hardware availability in Africa that undermines the capacity of national and local governments to undertake modelling.
- Air Quality Management: This requires input from the monitoring and modelling. It involves activities that we support the County Government of Nairobi to undertake to help protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution.
- An Air Awareness: this is s a public and community targeted outreach and education effort with a goal of reducing air pollution through
voluntary actions by individuals and organizations. The program draws on its coalition of participants to educate individuals about the sources of air pollution; health effects of air pollution and how people can protect against these effects; and simple actions they can take to reduce air pollution. The program includes ozone pollution, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) materials and information. Everyone has a role to play in having a positive impact on air quality in Nairobi – and the county wants to inspire everyone to take simple actions to help reduce air pollution and limit its impact on people’s health
The programe seeks to provide practical and logistical support to additional multi-stakeholders to undertake intensive observation periods that enables:
- Deployment of specialized atmospheric chemistry equipment
- Short-term observations of boundary structures
- Enhanced collection of particulate and gas samples for lab analysis
- Testing of new and proof-of concept instrument calibration inter-comparisons and performance evaluation
Why Nairobi as Our Project Site
Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, is among the three largest East African cities and serves as the region’s economic and transport hub. It is home to an estimated 5.3 million inhabitants, projected to increase to ~8 million by 2035.
Air pollution in the city, which in 2019 was 4.2 times higher than WHO recommended average annual concentration levels, is the results of both formal and informal activities. Poor air quality stems from reliance on unclean cooking fuels, improper waste management, and highly-polluting small-scale industries, primarily in informal settlements such as Kibera, Africa’s largest slum. In contrast, Nairobi’s traffic problems stem mainly from the city’s urban elites, as ~88% of the traffic on major highways comes from passenger vehicles, despite only 15% of households owning cars. This situation earned Nairobi the title of the fourth most congested city globally in 2019.
The Nairobi City County Government has recently taken major steps to manage air pollution. This includes the development of an Air Quality Action Plan, spurred by the Governor’s prioritisation of the issue. While some areas still require further development in tackling air pollution, the city has made considerable progress by creating strong partnerships with private and international actors, investing in air quality data collection and management, and enshrining air pollution action into law. These efforts help ensure Nairobi’s long-term commitment to addressing air pollution challenges, although much work remains to be done.
Key Questions
What is air quality?
What is Air Pollution?
What Pollutes the Air?
Why is it important to keep the air clean?
How does it affect me?
What can I do to help?

