By Sani Idris Abdulrahman
Abigail Olatunde, Executive Director of BEACON of Transformative and Inclusive Development Center, has sounded the alarm on the devastating impact of air pollution, highlighting its disproportionate effect on vulnerable populations.
In a statement to news men on Sunday in Kaduna, commemorating the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, Olatunde said air pollution doesn't respect borders, class, or politics, but it does discriminate, claiming over 7 million lives worldwide each year due to premature deaths from exposure to polluted air.
She added that in Nigeria, the causes are clear: open waste burning, unregulated factories, smoky vehicles, and the widespread use of charcoal and firewood in households are major contributors to the crisis.
She explained that the burden of air pollution is not shared equally, with those most affected being those with the fewest choices, including children with asthma, elderly residents in crowded slums, and persons with disabilities living near dump sites.
Olatunde noted that rural families forced to cook with harmful fuels are also among the most vulnerable, emphasizing that clean air is not a luxury, but a right.
She acknowledged that this is more than an environmental issue, but a public health crisis, a development emergency, and a matter of justice, calling on the government to enforce air quality standards and invest in clean energy alternatives.
She emphasized the need for awareness campaigns to reach the last mile and urged environmental actors to center inclusion, ensuring that disability communities, displaced populations, and the poor are not left out of clean air solutions.
She concluded that building blue skies requires building systems that breathe life into equity, sustainability, and justice, stressing that clean air is essential for all.
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