Charting the Course for Gender-Responsive Clean Air Action in Nairobi

By Purity Munyambu, March 7, 2024

Loise - a pseudonym to protect her privacy - is a single mother of two who works at an eatery next to a major bus station in Nairobi City. Her customers are travelers coming into Nairobi early in the morning and leaving the city late at night. She arrives at the eatery by 5:00 am most days and works until 8:00 pm. For Loise, who lives in one of Nairobi’s informal settlements, exposure to air pollution is part of her everyday life: leaving home so early for work exposes her to air pollution from the fumes of solid fuel burning in households and industrial waste burning from the night before. At work, Loise prepares meals using firewood or charcoal, breathing in more harmful particulate pollution into her lungs, which then travels into her blood - putting her at additional risk for heart attack, stroke, cancer and other diseases.  

Location also plays a role in her exposure to air pollution: working near a major bus station exposes Loise to vehicular emissions from drivers who do not switch off the engines while parked. She understands the threat of air pollution and is concerned that the prolonged exposure to vehicle emissions in her place of work affects her health in different ways. When asked if she suffers from any respiratory diseases, Loise responds that she has constant chest pains, which she treats with over-the-counter drugs. According to Clean Air Catalyst’s Data Analyst William Apondo, a recent field survey of 364 eateries indicated that 65% of the employees were female while 34% were male - pointing to a disproportionate impact on women in this industry.

“We enquired from the research participants about individuals in their household suffering from any respiratory ailments. We got 274 Yes responses. Among these, 152 are female, corresponding to about 55%.”

William Apondo, Data Analyst - Air Quality

Understanding the Gendered Impacts Of Air Pollution In Nairobi

Loise’s experience is one of many captured through a two-year scientific emissions inventory study on air pollution conducted for the Clean Air Catalyst by WRI Africa experts as well as Jomo Kenyatta University and University of Nairobi researchers in collaboration with the City County Government. In the initial phase, a field survey was conducted to collect firsthand information on the type and amount of activities producing air pollutants in the transport sector and by industry, household, commercial eateries and waste burning. Many emissions inventories will skip this step and use census data or published data from in-country or global sources. In addition, researchers were trained to collect additional data related to pollution exposure and its differentiated impact based on socio-economic class, neighborhood, gender and age -- adding an additional layer of data that can be used to reveal the different health impacts of air pollution on men and women by age group; how gender and status  contribute to pollution exposure; and the critical need to include and encourage women to participate in developing gender-smart solutions to air pollution in their communities. 

In the next phase of the study, researchers will use the collected data to establish a baseline of emissions from key sectors for black carbon, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), carbon monoxide,  nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. They will then be able to model the impact of air quality in the city and to raise awareness of the priority sources of pollution while producing evidence for analyzing the impacts on health, gender equity and climate.

“Women and girls make up half of the world’s population, however, their voices, and experiences tend to be underestimated and overlooked. For sustainable clean air actions, women need to be included from the planning to the implementation phase of these actions.”

Purity Munyambu, Gender, and Equity Specialist.

To ensure the study is gender-responsive, the Catalyst team is also going beyond the identification of gender-based differences to recognizeand consciously address gender and social inequalities. The research principles guiding the data collection include the participation of both men and women in the research process and on the research team, as well as a commitment to explore further lines of inquiry as they emerged from participants' experiences, which is proving to be a key element of the research. In addition, the Catalyst Nairobi team conducted training for the research team on safeguarding, in order to prevent and address any sexual exploitation, abuse or harassment of research participants, communities and staff. The Catalyst team also put in place reporting mechanisms to respond to any incidents that might occur, thereby prioritizing the safety of people we encounter during the research process.

The Catalyst team is undertaking a desk review of literature, case studies and stakeholder analysis, and collecting existing data from national statistical organizations, research and development institutions, and civil society organizations in Kenya, to complement the field data collection. The Catalyst team will use this collected data to investigate the beliefs and perceptions about gender and air pollution issues in Nairobi; to understand the existing institutions, laws, and policies that seek to address air pollution; to identify unique women’s issues around air quality that policymakers may have missed; and to provide recommendations that will inform gender-responsive solutions.

Incorporating Gender and Equity in air pollution solutions

"As the Catalyst Nairobi team, we have come to appreciate the need for gender mainstreaming in all our processes. This has facilitated cross-cutting approaches that seek to achieve gender equity and equality while reducing air pollution."

Ivy Murgor, Program Manager - Air Quality.

As the project moves forward, gender mainstreaming continues to be a key component, and has shifted to include the introduction of gender-conscious thinking and procedures into air pollution solutions.  For instance, the Clean Air Catalyst is partnering with GROOTS-Kenya, a women-led community-based movement, to educate members about the sources and impacts of air pollution in every aspect of their lives.  According to Groots Kenya’s Community Health Promoter, Isabella Nzioki, the organizers have “started having conversations with women who are small-scale traders next to the road… and are noting with concern the number of women in the communities who are suffering respiratory diseases as well as reproductive health complications due to vehicular emissions.”

By including the perspectives of citizens like Loise and the women from Groots Kenya, the Catalyst team in Nairobi is ensuring any next steps are informed not only by real, everyday data but also by taking into consideration the lived experience of the groups most affected by air pollution. The emissions inventory process started by the Catalyst team is an initial step towards building lasting strategies city-wide to reduce the effect of air pollution for women and all people in Nairobi.