Rosamund Kissi-Debrah

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.

Rosamund Kissi-Debrah
Other namesRosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah
OccupationTeacher
Known forActivist against air pollution and awareness about asthma

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 has been a candidate in a UK parliament by-election[11] and planned to be a candidate in the 2020 London Assembly elections (postponed to 2021).[12]

She is a World Health Organisation advocate for health and air quality.[1]

Kissi-Debrah will be one of the judges in the BLAC Awards in 2020[13]

Electoral History

General election 2019: Lewisham East[14]
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
2018 Lewisham East by-election[15]
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

  1. "Woman's Hour Power List 2020: The List". BBC Radio4. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  2. Gardiner, Beth. "The Mother Who Wants to Put Air Pollution on Her Daughter's Death Certificate". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  3. "Ella Kissi-Debrah: Government to be quizzed over 'pollution' death". BBC News. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  4. "Inquest examining girl's asthma attack death 'not about blame culture'". ITV News. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  5. Cockburn, Harry. "'Watching your child struggling to breathe is horrible': The lives changed by Britain's poisonous air". The Independent. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  6. "Ella Kissi-Debrah death: Council 'glacially slow' on pollution". BBC News. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  7. "Air pollution contributed to death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah, landmark ruling finds". The Independent. 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  8. "The Ella Roberta Family Foundation". Ella Roberta Family Foundation. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  9. Lewis, Tim. "Car-free neighbourhoods: the unlikely new frontline in the culture wars". The Observer. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  10. "Car-free neighbourhoods: the unlikely new frontline in the culture wars". the Guardian. 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  11. "Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah to run for the Green party in Lewisham East by-election". Lewisham Green Party. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  12. "London elections 2020 - Green Party mayoral hopefuls announced". BBC News. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  13. "Bright Lights Awards Ceremony". BLAC. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  14. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000787
  15. "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.
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