At the end of August 2025, the RESPIRA-ABEP project formally came to a close. What began as a seed-funded collaboration under the Una Europa – Africa Partnership programme has, over the past year, grown into a vibrant interdisciplinary network that now spans Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. RESPIRA-ABEP – Respiratory Health, Outdoor Air Pollution and Solid Waste Management: A Built Environment Perspective – was never meant to be jus

The RESPIRA consortium has recently taken an important new step in strengthening its long-term research agenda by submitting a new international funding application. This time, the proposal is led by our colleagues at Leiden University, with Prof. Marleen Dekker and Dr. Agnieszka kazimierczuk at the helm. They have been involved in various RESPIRA activities and projects and organised an inspiring panel at the CLEAR-AIR forum in Nairobi. The submitted project draws inspirati

“Will all this data ever really help the people of Nakuru?” It is the question that keeps coming back in every ward, in every community meeting, and in every conversation between residents and AngaWatch ambassadors. In 2025, it was also the most persistent concern raised by the ambassadors themselves. There is no simple or linear answer. The value of RESPIRA-AQM lies in a slow chain of steps – from stories and sensor readings, to evidence, to policy discussions, and eventuall