A woman who lost her daughter to illegal levels of air pollution has spoken at an event held by a Southampton university.
The University of Southampton and Wessex Health Partners held the Clean Air South event last week.
Anti-air pollution advocate Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah CBE addressed the gathering of Clean Air South, a new initiative aimed at understanding and combating air pollution's effect on health in central southern England.
After losing her nine-year-old daughter Ella Roberta to illegal levels of air pollution near their home, Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah has become a pivotal voice in the discussion about air pollution.
Air pollution is recognised as a key environmental risk to public health in the UK, associated with over 43,000 deaths each year.
It disproportionately affects children, the elderly, and the clinically vulnerable, and has been shown to worsen various health conditions, including coronary heart disease, asthma, dementia, and lung cancer.
Addressing the audience, Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah said: "Air pollution is a silent killer and a pandemic, killing more people than Covid.
"It is our right to breathe clean air and we will keep battling to be heard."
After the event, Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah visited University Hospital Southampton to engage with healthcare professionals and learn about the measures being taken to raise awareness of air pollution's role in patient health.
She also met with Diana Eccles, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton, and visited a research facility conducting trials for children with asthma and other diseases.
Dr Thom Daniels, respiratory consultant at University Hospital Southampton, said: "Poor air quality is one of the major public health challenges of our time, contributing to the shortened lives, poor health and deaths of thousands of people in the UK."
The effort behind Clean Air South includes a landmark report into Wessex's air quality, overseen by Professor John Boswell, co-director of the Centre for South, and Adam Meylan–Stevenson, both of the University of Southampton.
The partnership aims to guide policymakers, identify gaps in research, and develop effective solutions to air quality issues to improve public health.
Christine McGrath, managing director of Wessex Health Partners, said: "We can support policymakers to enact bold policies which drive change and protect our most vulnerable residents."
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