The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E20: Rosamund Clears the Air

The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E20: Rosamund Clears the Air

From The Girlfriends: Flight or Fight by iHeartPodcasts and Novel

March 30, 2026 · 42 min · Episode 16

About this episode

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah discusses her fight against air pollution following the death of her daughter from an asthma attack.

In 2013, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah’s nine-year-old daughter, Ella, died from a catastrophic asthma attack. Her death transformed her mum into a formidable campaigner. First, she fought to find out what had killed Ella - why had her previously healthy little girl suddenly developed breathing problems so bad they would become fatal? The answer lay very close to home - Ella, Rosamund and her siblings lived just off the busy South Circular Road, and the air pollution levels were dangerously high. Rosamund’s fight led to Ella becoming the first person in the world to have air pollution listed as a cause of death on her death certificate. Now Rosamund is one of the world’s leading campaigners to clean up dirty air globally. In this episode, she’s joined by a very special guest: Anna’s mum, Rachel Sinfield. Rachel’s tiny son, Kit, also died from an unexpected asthma attack, and she’s inspired by Rosamund’s work. The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. For more from Novel visit novel.audio

People in this episode

Guests: Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, Rachel Sinfield

Topics covered

  • air pollution
  • asthma
  • campaigning
  • health
  • environment
  • personal stories

Keywords

  • air pollution
  • asthma attack
  • campaigner
  • Ella
  • Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah
  • Rachel Sinfield
  • health advocacy
  • environmental issues

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: iHeartPodcasts, Novel

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