Air pollution puts our health and the health of our community at risk!

Air pollution remains the world's largest environmental health threat. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), warnings show that almost all of the world’s population, or about 99% breathe air that exceeds the air quality limits set by the organization and threatens their health. The people of the Middle East and North Africa region are no exception, as air pollution claims the lives of thousands of its inhabitants every year.

Breathing clean air is a basic human right and a necessary condition for healthy communities. However, how can we achieve this if we don't even know the levels of air pollution in different parts of our region?

Whether we live in villages or crowded cities, our rights and the rights of our children to live in a healthy environment and breathe clean air are violated every day, simply by walking to school or going to work. The situation is no different for those who live near large industrial plants, who face more serious health threats, high hospital bills, and even land seizures and forced evictions due to the actions of neighboring industries that pollute our land and make it unlivable.

What seems very worrying is that Middle Eastern and North African countries lack the necessary basic information to address this crisis directly. In light of a lack of data, and the absence of mechanisms to monitor air quality, our communities will remain incapable of better assessing air health.

We demand the right to clean air and work to reduce emissions resulting from the use of fossil fuels in industry, energy generation, and transportation, with a clear plan to gradually eliminate all forms of emissions and move to renewable energies, which can only be achieved through the availability of sufficient information and public access to it.

Combatting air pollution starts with eliminating its sources. Sign the petition to demand that governments in the MENA region take immediate action to monitor air quality and switch to renewable energy sources in order to completely eliminate the causes of air pollution.