The ELF Award 2022 goes to clean air campaigner Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah

We are delighted to announce that the ELF award 2022 has been awarded to Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah for her outstanding work campaigning for everyone’s fundamental right to breathe clean air.

Rosamund became a clean air advocate after her 9-year-old daughter, Ella, died in 2013 from asthma, exacerbated by air pollution. After years of campaigning for a second coroner’s inquest into Ella’s death, a landmark decision was reached in December 2020, making Ella the first person in the world to have air pollution listed as a cause of death on their death certificate.

In 2014, Rosamund founded the Ella Roberta Foundation in honour of her daughter. It was set up to change the air we breathe by campaigning for the coroners recommendations to be followed by governments, councils, medical professionals and the general public, all over the world. The Ella Roberta Foundation believes in a world where clean air is a human right. They think everyone should be able to breathe air that is free from toxic pollution, regardless of where they live, their economic status or their ethnic background.

Receiving the award, Rosamund said:

“Air pollution is a public health crisis that is damaging every organ in our body. Yet people, and children, are walking around unaware of how bad it is. I want people around the world to finally understand the deadly dangers lurking behind every breath we take, and demand that political leaders respect, and protect, our fundamental right to breathe clean air.”

ELF Chair, Kjeld Hansen, said:

“Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah is an outstanding lung health advocate. Fueled by her personal experience, enabled by empathy, determination and unwavering commitment, she has worked tirelessly in her campaigning to ensure that breathing clean air is a fundamental right. We are inspired by her work and honoured to announce Rosamund as the recipient of the ELF Award this year.

“There is still work to be done – air pollution is still a major issue worldwide. Alongside the work of the Ella Roberta Foundation, the European Lung Foundation believes there is a pressing need for action on air quality, both in terms of awareness and education, and in order to take active measures to reduce pollution levels. Our Healthy Lungs for Life campaign puts a spotlight on this by helping to raise awareness of lung health across the globe. Patients, healthcare professionals and the wider public must continue to work together to raise awareness of the issue and make reducing air pollution a priority for all.”

Learn more about the ELF Award and see past awardees

Learn more about the incredible work at the Ella Roberta Foundation