Air pollution, one of the most pressing environmental and public health crises of our time, is responsible for an estimated 7 million premature deaths annually, with the majority occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

In Ghana, urban cities like Accra face worsening air quality due to vehicular emissions, open burning of waste, industrial activities, and construction-related dust, all of which contribute to respiratory infections, cardiovascular disease, and developmental impairments in children.

Against this backdrop, stakeholders in the environmental sector convened at a Clean Air Conference to explore lasting solutions as part of activities to mark this year’s International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies.

At the conference, Zero Waste Director, Desmond Appiah, highlighted the need for heightened awareness, particularly around organic waste, which constitutes 65% of Ghana’s refuse, with city markets serving as the epicentres.

He advocated for composting and local-level bio-digesting of market waste to reduce air pollution, which costs the country an estimated $2.5 billion annually.

“65% of our waste is organic. Now, if you have 65% organic waste, what can you do with it? And we should remember, our organic waste is also wet. Now when you have wet waste, by the time you dry it to be able to go to the waste-to-energy, which is that, you would have lost about 50% of that waste. So I think composting is one of the things that we have to be doing. Markets have organics, and these are raw, clear organics. Why wouldn't they do some bio-digesting in the markets?” he questioned.

Dr Yaw Agyemang Boafo, of the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies at the University of Ghana, also urged the creation of more green spaces in cities to improve air quality.

“Creating spaces for more greens within the city is something that also we need to pay attention to because in many cities, where greenery systems are very efficiently done with more trees within different pathways, it allows the air to be cleaned and that's something that I think we can be picking up because the evidence is quite clear that if we have more greens, we are likely to reduce the amount of pollution and hence we can have a lot of clean air,” he noted.

Jacob Johnson Attakpah, Communication Lead of the event organiser, the Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO), explained the growing progress in tackling air pollution, citing increased engagement from policymakers and civil society actors.

“You can see the different levers of policymakers, actors, and CSOs within the room that shows you that there's a growing agency and a growing sense of need for us to be able to act on it. Now, we know that because air is a shared resource, everybody breathes the air. And so seeing municipal chief executives, coordinating directors, representatives from ministries, departments, agencies, all in this room, it brings me so much joy because it tells you that a lot more people are taking very keen interest when it comes to clean air,” he emphasised.

As part of the event, 150 mobile air quality sensors were donated to the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council, to be distributed across all municipalities in the region.

These sensors will help collect vital air quality data, which institutions such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ministry of Environment will use to develop and implement air quality policies across sectors including transport, construction, and agriculture.

Experts at the conference reiterated that clean air is essential in preventing non-communicable diseases caused by pollution.

They stressed that enforcing stricter regulations on pollutants is the most effective way to ensure that Ghanaians breathe cleaner, healthier air.