Jubilee Post News & Views
Dr. Seema Javed
A court in the UK has made legal history by ruling that air pollution is one of the causes of death of 9 year old Ella Kissi Debrah, who lived near a busy road in London with her mother. Ella has become the first person in the UK – and potentially the world – for whom air pollution is listed as a cause of death.
The Coroner found that air pollution levels near Ella’s home exceeded WHO guidelines EU lawful limits over the three years prior to her death and this materially contributed to Ella’s death. The Coroner said the principal source of Ella’s exposure was traffic emissions.
The Coroner stated that there was a recognised failure to reduce the level of NO2 which possibly contributed to her death. He also recognised the lack of information given to Ella’s mother, which possibly contributed to her death.
It will now be stated in Ella’s death certificate that she died from the following causes:
1a) acute respiratory failure 1b) severe asthma 1c) air pollution exposure.
The Coroner referred to a picture of Ella taken shortly before her 9th birthday which was in the Coroner’s court during the inquest. “It shows someone with very bright brown eyes and a smile that seems to be even larger than the photograph itself. What is clear from everything I’ve read about Ella, is her absolute determination…we have a great many reasons to thank you [Rosamund] in getting us here.
Ella’s mother, Rosamund, gave evidence during the inquest and said that Kissi-Debrah, her daughter had been taken to hospital about 28 times during her life after suffering acute asthma attacks and seizures. Hours before she died in February 2013, she said she had read to Ella in bed after the family had eaten a meal together on Valentine’s Day evening. “I had printed off Beethoven’s love letters that day, so that was the last thing I read to her.”
A few hours later her daughter woke and needed her asthma pump. She woke again struggling to breathe and her mother called an ambulance that took her to Lewisham hospital, where her condition deteriorated. “I begged the consultant – I knew we were in trouble,” her mother said. But they were unable to save her daughter, she told the inquest. “Not this time.” Ella was declared dead at 3.27am on 15 February.
Dr. Arvind Kumar, founder trustee of the Lung Care Foundation and chairman of the Institute of Chest Surgery in India: “No child should die the way Ella did, struggling for breath. No parent should have to worry the way Rosamund Kissi-Debrah did about whether her child could breathe, or have to rush her to a hospital every time she couldn’t. By listing air pollution as a cause of Ella’s death, the UK coroner has made clear that governments around the world, including in India, have an obligation to ensure for children our human right to life, to breathe clean air, and to live in a healthy environment. Governments must step up and protect our youngest generations from suffering the way Ella did.”
Dr. Poornima Prabhakaran, deputy director at the Centre for Environmental Health at Public Health Foundation of India: “The results of the inquest into Ella’s death will set a precedent for future battles for the ‘right to breathe clean air’. Both from a human rights perspective as well from a health perspective, governments around the world have a duty to effect policies and air quality management plans that uphold the health of their citizens, especially young and vulnerable children like Ella, at the core of all actions. Poor air quality affects children at every stage of life and therefore protecting our future generation across their entire life course is key.”
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, supreme court advocate and chief executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association: “Ella’s death reminds us that clean air is a basic building block for health, and that we can’t create a caring and healthy society without guaranteeing clean air. This inquest will save the lives of millions of children who are suffering from dirty air the way Ella did, and mark the rise of a truly caring society in which governments guarantee everyone’s right to life and clean air.”
(Environmentalist, Independent Journalist & Communication Consultant)
