How Kenya's clean air dream is choked by shrinking global funding

Every rush hour in Nairobi leads to heavy traffic gridlock as motorists try to make their way into and out of the city centre. The engine revs only serve to produce soot that literally covers the city, polluting the air and making it dangerous to breathe because of the chemicals it contains.

For many city residents, this daily fog of dust and smoke has become part of life. But behind the haze lies a deeper crisis: The money needed to clean the city’s air is drying up.

This results in health risks, which in turn bring a financial burden even as people try to deal with the hard economic times.

A recent Clean Air Fund 2025 report shows that global funding for air quality projects fell by over 20 per cent in 2023 with sub-Saharan Africa recording a staggering 91 per cent drop in outdoor air quality funding. Despite Africa having some of the world’s most polluted urban centres, only 1 per cent of international development finance goes to clean air initiatives.

In Nairobi, where rapid urbanisation and motorisation collide, air pollution levels remain well above the World Health Organisation (WHO) limits. Data from the Clean Air Catalyst Project, which has installed reference air monitors across the city, show particulate matter (PM2.5) levels that frequently exceed safe standards. The worst-hit areas include Eastlands, Dandora, and Industrial Area where industrial smoke, open waste burning, and traffic congestion create a toxic mix.

The Clean Air Fund report finds that air pollution is already a leading environmental health risk. In Africa, it is responsible for a large number of premature deaths, especially among children. The drop in funding means fewer resources for monitoring, regulation, and mitigation (e.g. controlling traffic emissions, industrial pollution, waste burning, and indoor air pollution). Without adequate interventions, health burdens (respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease) are likely to grow.

Malkia Abuga, Senior Technical Advisor, Public Health and Community Health Systems at Nairobi City County, underscores the financial burden not only to households but also to national and county governments that air pollution brings about.

“We record between 30,000 and 47,000 cases in our level two to level four hospitals in Nairobi every month, and that is only for immediate attacks such as sneezing, experiencing a sore throat, and things like that. These people spend a lot of money, and like we say, if a family spends 40 per cent of their income on medication, then they are undergoing a financial catastrophe,” Abuga explains.

“It even gets worse when we go to lower respiratory cases, where you have a patient coming in with difficulty in breathing, for example, after inhaling the smaller particles. We have to use antibiotics to treat them, and this means more damage. It is predicted that by 2050, there will be 10 million deaths because of antibiotic resistance due to frequent use,” she says.

Dr George Mwaniki, Africa’s head of air quality and Kenya Country Director at World Resources Institute, says air quality is one of the most underfunded sectors in development finance, despite its wide-reaching impacts.

“In Nairobi, air pollution is linked to around 10,000 premature deaths each year. Beyond the human cost, the economic burden is massive, air pollution is estimated to account for nearly 30 per cent of the city’s total healthcare budget,” Dr Mwaniki says.

In light of the findings, initiatives such as Breathe Cities have emerged as targeted and strategic responses to urban air pollution. The programme focuses on strengthening data collection, policy development, and citizen engagement. In Nairobi, it has supported the rollout of city-owned air quality sensors and built the capacity of county officials to act on pollution data.

Although global investment in air quality remains limited—particularly in low-resource settings—Breathe Cities demonstrates how locally led partnerships can make progress despite funding constraints. The initiative provides a replicable model that connects data to action while keeping equity at the centre of its implementation.

According to Victor Indasi, the Kenya Lead for the Breath Cities Nairobi Initiative, the programme is currently supporting nine projects across four strategic pillars: Data and Research, Stakeholder and Community Engagement, Technical Policy Assistance, and Lesson Sharing. “Under the Data and Research pillar, a key milestone was the launch of Nairobi’s first city-owned air quality monitoring network in June 2025, which has greatly improved the city’s capacity to generate reliable, locally relevant air pollution data,” he explains.

This network is shaping public awareness campaigns and strengthening partnerships across sectors. While it’s still early to measure its full impact, the initiative is showing clear promise in promoting data-driven decisions and collaborative clean air action for Nairobi’s future.

Local Efforts, Limited Resources

At the local level, the Nairobi City County Government has made notable strides through the development of the Nairobi Clean Air Action Plan, with support from the Breath Cities Nairobi Initiative. The plan outlines strategies for cleaner transport, better waste management, and community awareness.

However, Maurice Kavai, Deputy Director of Climate, Air Quality, and Renewable Energy at the Nairobi County Government, admits implementation is constrained by limited resources.

“Our biggest challenge is funding. While the plan gives us a roadmap, execution depends on financial and technical support,” he says.

Dr Mwaniki says that Kenya has a chance in raising funds for air pollution if it only presents it well as climate change issue.

“If we position air quality solutions as part of our climate response, especially in key sectors like transport, industrial decarbonization, and waste management, we open the door to climate finance. It’s a win-win: cleaner air and reduced greenhouse gas emissions,” he explains.

Building a Unified Front

Recognizing the need for collaboration, Nairobi has established the Nairobi Air Quality Working Group (N-AIR) — a platform bringing together academia, research institutions, the media, civil society, NGOs, and government agencies to coordinate clean air efforts.

“This kind of collaboration helps bridge the gap between science, policy, and community action,” says Indasi.

The group has played a key role in harmonizing data-sharing frameworks, aligning advocacy messages, and mobilizing citizen participation in air quality campaigns.

Question of Health and Justice

Air pollution in Kenya is not only an environmental issue — it’s a public health and social justice concern. The Global Burden of Disease study ranks air pollution among the top 10 causes of premature deaths in Kenya.

At Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, where one of the reference monitors is installed, medical staff report a rise in respiratory illnesses, particularly among children and the elderly.

This is why Ibrahim Nyangoya Auma, the  County Executive Committee Member for Mobility and Works, believes that transport reform is central to clean air action.

“It’s time to prioritize cleaner options — electric vehicles, non-motorized transport, and clean mass public transit. Clean air must be at the heart of every transport plan,” says Auma.

Kenya is taking steps toward cleaner mobility. The launch of the Safiri Electric Project, led by WRI and supported by the Mitigation Action Facility, aims to accelerate the adoption of electric two- and three-wheelers — the most common urban transport modes. The project also seeks to create green jobs and strengthen local EV assembly and manufacturing.

Yet, as Dr Mwaniki notes, “Transitioning to clean mobility requires not just innovation, but long-term financial commitment.”

“The most critical partnerships are those between research institutions and government, especially county governments. When local authorities have access to credible data and research-driven insights, they can make smarter decisions,” he adds.

Experts argue that integrating air quality into climate finance frameworks could unlock resources for cities. Since air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions share sources, coordinated investment can deliver cleaner air and climate resilience.

Turning a Blind Eye

Perhaps more alarmingly, the trend in 2022–2023 displays both contraction in funding and contradiction thereof. During that period, funding targeted at outdoor air quality declined from US $4.7 billion in 2022 to $3.7 billion in 2023, a drop of about 20 per cent. In contrast, investments that effectively perpetuate fossil fuel use surged—rising by roughly 80 per cent. In 2023 alone, $9.5 billion flowed into fossil fuel–extending projects, more than double the amount devoted to air quality (which stood at $3.7 billion. This underscores a policy and investment paradox: while health and climate imperatives demand a pivot away from fossil fuels, donor flows continue to prop them up.

Dr Lidubwi is a media trainer and a lecturer in Mass Communication at the Africa Nazarene University