Energy, Air Pollution, and Health
We collect primary data on air pollution sources, exposures, health effects, and interventions in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, with field studies completed or ongoing in Kenya, Ghana, The Gambia and China. The research includes measuring exposure to individual pollutants or to pollutant mixtures, quantifying the role of sources like biomass use and transportation on air pollution levels and exposures, quantifying the health impacts of alternative energy technologies, and designing new technological interventions and intervention delivery programs.
In Kenya, we conducted one of the first detailed studies that characterized exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP) from biomass fuels and estimated the first ever exposure-response relationship for IAP and lower respiratory infections, the leading cause of death among infants and children worldwide. Anticipating an increasingly urbanized world, we now investigate the temporal, spatial, and socioeconomic patterns of air pollution sources and levels in Accra neighbourhoods.
You can see the details of specific projects, and related publications, by selecting them below.
Publications (complete list on publications page)
Ezzati M, Kammen DM. Household energy, indoor air pollution and health in developing countries: knowledge base for effective intervention. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment 2002; 27:233-270
Ezzati M, Kammen DM. The health impacts of exposure to indoor air pollution from solid fuels in developing countries: knowledge, gaps, and data needs. Environmental Health Perspectives 2002; 110(11):1057-1068
Ezzati M, Bailis R, Kammen DM, Holloway T, Price L, Cifuentes LA, Barnes B, Chaurey A, Dhanapala KN. Energy management and global health. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 2004; 29:383-420
Ezzati M, Utzinger J, Cairncross S, Cohen AJ, Singer BH. Environmental risks in the developing world: exposure indicators for evaluating interventions and policies. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2005; 59(1):15-22
Smith KR, Ezzati M. How environmental risks change with development: the epidemiologic and environmental risk transitions revisited. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 2005; 30:291-333
