There is something Arvind Kejriwal said the other day regarding Delhi air pollution. Air pollution cannot be solved through politics. It is one of the most dreaded problems that can kill mankind.
“My daughter was a bright child growing up in South East London. But on her ninth birthday she had a fatal asthma attack. That day her death certificate listed air pollution as the cause of death. Ella Ato Kissi Debrah was the first person in the world to have air pollution listed as the cause of death. Yes… ..
This is her story. Ella was born in South East London in 2004. At just 8 months old, she was a healthy baby girl. She grew up with a lot of energy and a great interest in sports with a funny laugh. She enjoyed all her time in swimming pools, especially for swimming competitions. She also showed her talent in gymnastics at the age of 4.
So he was enjoying life by loving books, loving music and starring in the shows of Jigasso Performing Arts, a dance school in London at that time. Apart from all this, she also held on to her dream of becoming an air ambulance doctor. But everything changed when she got a terminal illness. Three months before her 7th birthday, Ella got a chest infection.
It later turned into a persistent cough. Rosamond, the mother, didn’t listen at first because she thought it was a whooping cough. Later, a doctor confirmed that it was asthma. By then 5.4 million people in the UK had become asthmatics. Fortunately, Ella had a neighbor who lived near her house and was skilled in first aid.
He was admitted to the hospital when it was diagnosed as asthma and was released the next day. But health wise that one strength lasts only for a week. Ella’s condition became very serious. This time she moved into a coma stage. Then three days later Yalla woke up transformed from a healthy child to a crippled asthmatic. The next two years were a busy period of tests to find out the cause of Ella’s ill health.
Tests ranged from epilepsy to cystic fibrosis. But the doctors who examined her only revealed that she was sensitive to allergens. But still the cause of her asthma could not be found. More than 30 emergency hospital visits were made during her death. Still, there was no mention of air pollution as a problem during Ella’s life and illness.
Later, Professor Sir Stephen Holgate, a consultant respiratory physician at Southampton University, examined Ella’s medical reports and came to a conclusion. He found and reported that the main cause of her asthma severity was related to high air pollution in the area. The year was February 15, 2013. Three weeks after her ninth birthday, Ella died of a fatal asthma attack. It was then that Rosamund, the mother, realized that there was a connection between her daughter’s death and air pollution.
This impact of air pollution had not been considered by the doctors who had previously treated Ella. The inquest into her death did not investigate, so Rosamund decided to seek legal advice. She soon began working with human rights lawyer Jocelyn Cockburn. Due to new evidence casting doubt on Ella’s cause of death, the family decided to apply to the High Court for a new inquest into Ella’s death in 2019. Rosamund applied to the High Court to overturn the findings of the first inquest and allow a second inquest.
A new inquest in December 2020 examined the role air pollution played in her death. It examined what government departments, local authorities and the Mayor of London had done to reduce illegal air pollution where Ella lived. Throughout Ella’s life, it became clear that nitrogen dioxide levels in Lewisham exceeded those of the European Union and particulate matter levels were above World Health Organization estimates.
Air pollution was a major factor contributing to the severity of her asthma. The case made history when it ruled that air pollution was one of the causes of the nine-year-old’s death. One thing we need to note here is that the public is not aware of the problem of air pollution. With more awareness, perhaps the problem of air pollution can be reduced.
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