Gambian natives and medical professional Awa Sabally-Touray and Sunkaru Touray, a pulmonologist, recently founded the Gambia-based Permian Health Clean Air Initiative. The institute has rapidly set up a network of low-cost PM2.5 sensors and hosted a national air quality conference, both the first of their kind in The Gambia. The Institute plans to establish a government-grade monitor in collaboration with the Government of The Gambia, as well as conduct several communications and capacity building activities.
“While I was visiting The Gambia, I observed that many women had chest x-rays that looked similar to those of coal miners in the US, even though most Gambian women do not smoke or work in coal mines. Recognizing the connection between air quality and lung health, I decided to look for information on air quality in Gambia. However, I found that there was none available. This experience inspired me to establish an air quality network in The Gambia.” – Dr. Sunkaru Touray, Pulmonologist and Critical Care Physician
Country Profile (The Gambia): Opportunity Score 10.4 (High): Annual average PM2.5 levels are more than 1.4 times the WHO guideline. There is no public PM2.5 data produced by the government, nor is there a national ambient air quality standard for PM2.5.