A county legislator has asked the Nairobi Metropolitan Services and City Hall to develop a policy on air quality to deal with pollution in the city.
Deputy Majority Whip Waithera Chege is concerned that despite the county government's Air Quality Action Plan (2019-2023) intended to develop, implement and enforce air quality management, nothing has been done.
Waithera says in a motion before the house that respiratory diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children in the county.
The South B MCA attributes the high incidents of respiratory and heart diseases especially in informal settlements to the high levels of air pollution.
Waithera, who quoted Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, says a child’s neuro-development was adversely affected by air pollution, leading to disorders like autism, attention deficit and hyperactivity.
“This assembly, therefore, urges the county executive in conjunction with the Nairobi Metropolitan Services to urgently develop air quality policy and legislation to provide for mechanisms of improving air quality and submit the same to the county assembly for approval,” she says.
She adds: “Air pollution is a perennial concern in the county because it has the greatest environmental risk to the health of the vulnerable populations.”
Section 5 of the Nairobi City County Solid Waste Management Act, 2015 says every person in the county is entitled to a clean and healthy environment and and requires everybody to safeguard and enhance the quality of the environment.
Last year, the World Health Organisation said air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide.
Environment is a shared function between City Hall and NMS following the signing of Deed of Transfer of functions on February 25 between the county and the National governments.
- mwaniki fm
