The U.S. Consulate General, Karachi partnered with The MagnifiScience Centre on June 21 to organize the panel discussion “SaafHawa Kay Liye: Improving Air Quality Together.” This event gathered policymakers, climate change experts, business leaders, civil society groups, diplomatic community members, and other stakeholders at the Centre to explore the impact of poor air quality, to look at ways different stakeholders can work together to improve air quality in Karachi, and to highlight the efforts of local air quality champions.
U.S. Deputy Consul General Matt Ference, Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab, UK Deputy High Commissioner Mike Nithavrianakis, and Founder of the Pakistan Air Quality Initiative Abid Omar delivered remarks.
“Air pollution is a threat to human health, the environment, and economies,” said Deputy Consul General Ference. “That is why we have brought together a diverse group of stakeholders today to explore ways we can work together across sectors to improve air quality in Karachi, and by doing so improve public health and contribute to the fight against climate change in Pakistan and beyond.”
“The Dawood Foundation is working with its partners to support environmental efforts in Karachi, and wishes to participate in or initiate projects that will improve air quality in our city and beyond”, said Syed FasihuddinBiyabani, CEO The Dawood Foundation. “The MSC is a platform for learning and informal education. Learning about air pollution and the need to improve air quality aligns with our mission that Science is for Everyone!, says Christoph S. Sprung, Director. MagnifiScience Centre.
Journalist Afia Salam led a panel discussion with Dr. Zafar Fatmi, Professor of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University Medical College; Nazish Shekha, Director of Research, Pakistan Business Council Center for Excellence in Responsible Business (CERB); Sophia Hasnain, CEO, Linked Things; and M. Kamran Khan, Deputy Director, Sindh Environmental Protection Agency. The group highlighted the impact of poor air quality and the need for greater research, while explaining how stakeholders in both the public and private sector can push for change.
U.S. Consulate General, Karachi recently donated an air quality sensor to the Magnifiscience Centre to provide greater information about air quality in Karachi and provide a learning tool for children visiting the Centre. The sensor at Magnifiscience supplements the more than 60 reference-grade air quality monitors the U.S. Department of State had installed at diplomatic posts worldwide, including four that were already in place in Pakistan. Real-time outdoor air quality data from these monitors helps scientists and policymakers address air quality around the world and is transparently available to the public.
