Mir Alvarez Celia

PhD Student in Public Health, Université de Paris

Contact: celia.mir-alvarez(at)etu.u-paris.fr

Dissertation title : Air Quality Policies in the Global South: Public Health Knowledge in Building Effective Governance

Dissertation under the direction of Soraya Boudia

High levels of air pollution pose a serious health and environmental challenge to national and local governments worldwide. many places in the world are still struggling with this hazard, particularly in Low and Middle Income Countries where levels of air pollution are becoming even more alarming. The health implications of this issue are extremely heavy, with millions of deaths each year being due to outdoor air pollution. In this context, it is important to study why despite the severe impact of urban air pollution on health, the issue remains ignored or overlooked by many governments in the Global South. This thesis aims to explore how the issue is concretely conceptualized and addressed on the policy side, how international actors shape the problem of air pollution, and how public health knowledge is disseminated to the public. The focus will be on two African cities, Casablanca (Morocco) and Accra (Ghana).