Air pollution is the number one health risk to humankind, with EPIC’s Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) showing that the burden of pollution on life expectancy outstrips that of malaria, HIV/AIDS and transportation injuries combined. While research shows that installing air quality monitors and sharing real-time data with the public in places with very little or no data leads to cleaner air, nearly 40 percent of countries—many of which satellite data shows are highly polluted—aren’t producing open air quality data for their citizens.

Through a $1.5 million gift from Open Philanthropy, the EPIC Air Quality Fund will support local groups and organizations in installing monitors and providing open data to communities that could benefit the most.

On July 31, EPIC’s Clean Air Program director Christa Hasenkopf and the EPIC Air Quality Fund project manager, Farah Kazi introduced the Fund and its application process.