Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health – Center for Research and Innovation 

The award will support the establishment of Cebu City’s first low-cost, high-density air quality sensor network, making real-time information on air pollution openly accessible to communities and local decision-makers. In collaboration with the Cebu City Government and local organizations, the project will translate this information into timely public health warnings and practical guidance to help communities reduce their exposure to air pollution. The team will then work with the local government to strengthen the use of air quality information for planning and decision-making and to support the development of Cebu City’s first local air quality ordinance. By bringing together communities, civil society, researchers, and government, we hope to develop a locally led model for air quality management that can be adapted by other cities across the Philippines.

“Air quality data only becomes meaningful when it can be used by people to make decisions and take action. Through our work with Breathe Metro Manila, we have seen how making air pollution visible can bring communities, researchers, civil society, and local governments together around a shared problem. We see this project in Cebu as an opportunity to build on that experience—strengthening local capacity to understand and respond to air pollution, while creating a model that can be adapted by other cities across the Philippines.”

Dr. Geminn Louis C. Apostol, Program Head – Environmental Health and Global Health Security, Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health – Center for Research and Innovation