Rosamund Kissi-Debrah
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah | |
---|---|
Other names | Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah |
Occupation | Teacher |
Known for | Activist against air pollution and awareness about asthma |
Political party | Green Party of England and Wales |
Rosamund Kissi-Debrah (also known as Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah) is a grassroots campaigner in London, UK raising awareness of asthma and the health problems that can be caused by air pollution.
Campaigning[]
Kissi-Debrah's campaign for clean air followed the death of her 9 year old daughter, Ella Roberta, in 2013 who had experienced a series of severe asthma attacks over several years.[1] A 2014 inquest focused only on Ella's medical care, prompting Kissi-Debrah to campaign for air pollution to be included on her child's death certificate, after learning about its possible adverse effects on health.[2] Her campaign has led to a second inquest in 2020, where evidence about air pollution was considered,[3][4][5][6] with a ruling[7] in December 2020 that pollution from the South Circular Road, London was a contributing factor to Ella Roberta's death.
Kissi-Debrah also co-founded the Ella Roberta Family Foundation to promote her goals more widely to the public and officials.[8] This charity aims to improve the lives of children affected by asthma in South East London. It engages with politicians and policy makers as well as young people and communities to raise awareness of asthma, advocate for better medical treatment of asthma and also campaigns for clean air. Kissi-Debrah is the Executive Director.
She has worked with the Mayor of London on the Healthy London Partnership and has contributed to proposed expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London that aims to reduce air pollution from cars.[1] Low traffic neighbourhoods have been introduced in London, partly to reduce air pollution. Kissi-Debrah has been drawn into the conflict between the potential for social and environmental benefits but also for damage from the diverted traffic flows. She has advocated for balance in reducing traffic and improving air quality.[9] In a 2020 interview with the Guardian, she said: “For people who live in an LTN, yes, life is better, I don’t deny that, but their traffic is going somewhere. You cannot live in a neighbourhood where one part has an LTN and children are cycling and playing outside and the roads are safe, then pop along a couple of roads later and there’s gridlocked traffic. We cannot live in a society like that.”[10]
Kissi-Debrah was a candidate in the 2018 Lewisham East by-election and the 2019 UK general election in the same constituency.[11] She was also a candidate in the 2021 London Assembly election for the Green Party of England and Wales, finishing third in Greenwich and Lewisham.[12][13]
She is a World Health Organization advocate for health and air quality.[1]
Kissi-Debrah was one of the judges in the BLAC Awards in 2020.[14]
Electoral history[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Janet Daby | 26,661 | 59.5 | 8.5 | |
Conservative | Sam Thurgood | 9,653 | 21.5 | 1.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | Ade Fatukasi | 5,039 | 11.2 | 6.8 | |
Green | Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah | 1,706 | 3.8 | 2.1 | |
Brexit Party | Wesley Pollard | 1,234 | 2.8 | N/A | |
CPA | Maureen Martin | 277 | 0.6 | 0.1 | |
Independent | Mark Barber | 152 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Young People's | Richard Galloway | 50 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Independent | Roger Mighton | 43 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 17,008 | 38.0 | 6.9 | ||
Turnout | 44,815 | 66.0 | 3.2 | ||
Registered electors | 67,857 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | 3.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Janet Daby | 11,033 | 50.2 | 17.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Lucy Salek | 5,404 | 24.6 | 20.2 | |
Conservative | Ross Archer | 3,161 | 14.4 | 8.6 | |
Green | Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah | 788 | 3.6 | 1.9 | |
Women's Equality | Mandu Reid | 506 | 2.3 | N/A | |
UKIP | David Kurten | 380 | 1.7 | 0.1 | |
For Britain | Anne Marie Waters | 266 | 1.2 | N/A | |
CPA | Maureen Martin | 168 | 0.8 | 0.3 | |
Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | 93 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Democrats and Veterans | Massimo DiMambro | 67 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Libertarian | Sean Finch | 38 | 0.2 | N/A | |
Access to the Law for All | Charles Carey | 37 | 0.2 | N/A | |
Radical | Patrick Gray | 20 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Young People's | Thomas Hall | 18 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 5,629 | 25.6 | 19.3 | ||
Turnout | 22,056 | 33.3 | 36.1 | ||
Registered electors | 66,140 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | 19.0 |
Personal life[]
Kissi-Debrah lives on the South Circular Road in London.[5] She is a secondary school teacher in Lewisham.[11]
Awards[]
In November 2020 she was included in the BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Power list 2020.[1]
References[]
- ^ a b c d "Woman's Hour Power List 2020: The List". BBC Radio4. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ Gardiner, Beth. "The Mother Who Wants to Put Air Pollution on Her Daughter's Death Certificate". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "Ella Kissi-Debrah: Government to be quizzed over 'pollution' death". BBC News. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "Inquest examining girl's asthma attack death 'not about blame culture'". ITV News. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ a b Cockburn, Harry. "'Watching your child struggling to breathe is horrible': The lives changed by Britain's poisonous air". The Independent. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "Ella Kissi-Debrah death: Council 'glacially slow' on pollution". BBC News. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ "Air pollution contributed to death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah, landmark ruling finds". The Independent. 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
- ^ "The Ella Roberta Family Foundation". Ella Roberta Family Foundation. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ Lewis, Tim. "Car-free neighbourhoods: the unlikely new frontline in the culture wars". The Observer. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "Car-free neighbourhoods: the unlikely new frontline in the culture wars". the Guardian. 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
- ^ a b "Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah to run for the Green party in Lewisham East by-election". Lewisham Green Party. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "London elections 2020 - Green Party mayoral hopefuls announced". BBC News. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "Mayor of London and London Assembly election results 2021". London Elects. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- ^ "Bright Lights Awards Ceremony". BLAC. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "lewisham East parliamentary constituency 2019 election result". BBC News. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- ^ "Lewisham East constituency by-election on 14 June 2018". Lewisham London Borough Council. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
- Living people
- Air pollution in the United Kingdom
- Black British activists
- British women activists
- English activists
- Health activists
- People from Lewisham
- Schoolteachers from London
- Green Party of England and Wales parliamentary candidates
- Health and transport