The executive director of a nonprofit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said of the closure of the U.S. Global Air Quality program: “Its withdrawal has constituted a huge gap for our work because we are no longer able to calibrate the air quality data that we are continuously collecting.” Without the data, his team has less evidence to raise awareness and push for policy changes that could improve air quality.
Date: 6/26
Region: Africa
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Topic: Climate & Environment, Health
Policy Lens: Climate & Resource Pressure
Entry Type: Field Observation
Additional Context: This quote was collected as part of The Aid Report’s original reporting, “‘Why did the US State Department stop sharing air quality data?” This feature story examines how the U.S. has stopped publicly sharing air quality data collected at embassies around the world, leaving many countries without trusted pollution measurements.
This quote is attributed to Paulson Kasereka, executive director of the nonprofit WASARU, which promotes community-driven solutions on the nexus of air quality, climate resilience, and sanitation. When the U.S. Global Air Quality program ended, more than 70 diplomatic posts in over 50 countries — including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — stopped providing the trusted, independent pollution data that many relied on. Globally, only 64% of countries monitor air pollution at all, and just 27% make that information publicly available and transparent.
Source: Devex