The Lagos State Government has said it is collaborating with the University of Reading, England on the need to create awareness on the dangers of air pollution in the state.
The General-Manager of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
She said, “The damage of air pollution to human health and ecosystems continues to exacerbate globally, especially in developing countries and air pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM2.5), Nitrogen oxides, and ozone, amongst others, have been the main causes of cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, and premature death.
“Air quality has been continuously deteriorating in Lagos, Nigeria, in the last decades and this is why LASEPA is collaborating with Reading University to measure, assess, enlighten and educate the populace about the menace of air pollution and how they can help in its prevention, or at best minimisation to the barest minimum.”
A Professor of Computational Geography at the University of Reading, Alan Howard, explained that the project will help develop measures to reduce air pollution in the state.
“Our doctorate student, Henry Akinola, is monitoring air pollution in Lagos with the agency using the Airly sensors and conducting surveys and focus groups with different groups of people. He is engaging with local communities to understand their perceptions and concerns about air quality.”
“Akinola has held Agege, Oshodi, Mushin, and Ikeja community group meetings and garnered over 1000 response to a questionnaire survey. This work is supported by LASEPA and it will help develop effective measures to reduce air pollution and protect human health,” he said.
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