Breathing Together: Taking Air Quality Advocacy to Ago Egun

During Air Quality Awareness Week 2026, Miri Africa organised a series of activities focused on awareness, research, and community engagement across Lagos. The week ended in Ago Egun, a coastal fishing and fish-smoking community in Bariga, Lagos, where residents live daily with the realities of air pollution.

Located a few kilometres from the University of Lagos and surrounded by rapid urban development, Ago Egun sits at the intersection of economic survival and environmental exposure. Fish smoking, generator use, open burning, and poor ventilation contribute to the pollution residents breathe every day.

For many people in the community, the effects are not abstract. Speaking with the Miri Africa team during the outreach, the son of the late village chief, the Baale of Ago Egun, shared a painful experience:

"My father died earlier this year as a result of complications from respiratory issues."

His words reflected the lived reality behind the statistics and reinforced why conversations around air quality cannot remain limited to conferences, reports, or policy discussions alone.

Bringing Air Quality Conversations to the Community

The outreach focused on helping residents better understand air pollution, its health impacts, and why local air quality data matters.

The session was led by Dr. Walter, who spoke with residents about the different forms of air pollution and how everyday activities contribute to poor air quality. Drawing from the experiences of the community itself, he explained how smoke exposure, especially from fish smoking and generator fumes, can affect the lungs, heart, and overall well-being over time.

Rather than a formal lecture, the session became a conversation. Residents shared their concerns, observations, and experiences living within the community.

The discussion highlighted several important issues:

• Air pollution is often invisible, but its health effects build gradually over time.
• Smoke from fish smoking, generators, and open burning significantly affects both indoor and outdoor air quality.
• Children, older adults, and people with existing respiratory conditions are especially vulnerable.
• Access to local air quality data is important for advocacy and public awareness.
• Communities should play an active role in environmental decision-making.

A Community-Chosen Air Quality Monitor

As part of the outreach, Miri Africa donated a Miri Air air quality monitoring device to the community. Rather than selecting the installation point independently, residents of Ago Egun chose where the monitor would be placed.

The decision was intentional.

Communities most affected by pollution are often excluded from the processes that shape environmental action. Allowing residents to determine the placement of the monitor ensured that the data collected would reflect the spaces where people actually live, work, gather, and breathe.

The monitor will now provide hyperlocal air quality data from Ago Egun, creating evidence that can support awareness, research, and future advocacy efforts.

A Week Rooted in Community

For Miri Africa, Air Quality Awareness Week 2026 was not simply about raising awareness online. It was about connecting research, data, and policy conversations with the people most affected by polluted air.

From discussions with researchers and policymakers to conversations within Ago Egun itself, the week reinforced an important truth: environmental action is most meaningful when communities are part of it.

Ago Egun is one of many communities living at the frontline of air pollution. Listening to those communities, understanding their realities, and supporting them with tools and knowledge remains central to the work ahead.