32,000 Ghanaians Die Yearly from Air Pollution (Clean Air Campaign Urges Urgent Action!)
According to numbers released at the start of the National Clean Air Campaign in Accra, Ghana loses more than 32,000 people each year to air pollution, which is almost 14% of all deaths. High blood pressure is the only other cause of death that is higher than this. The Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO) is working with city governments, youth climate networks, waste worker unions, and civil society groups to run the campaign across all 16 regions. The theme is “Just transition for communities—Building Prosperity, Restoring Hope.” The country’s air pollution problem is getting worse. The average annual PM2.5 concentration is 35.8 micrograms per cubic meter, which is more than seven times the World Health Organization’s recommended level. This is caused by road traffic, household fuels, industrial emissions, and burning trash in the open. Betty Adjei of GAYO told communities to stop burning trash and include informal waste workers in formal waste management. Lord Offei Darko talked about how polluted air is bad for health and the economy, especially for young people living in cities. To make the environment better, Alfredos Nii Anyetei, the Municipal Chief Executive for La Dade-Kotopon, said that sanitation laws need to be enforced more strictly, people need to be educated about them, and people who break the rules need to be held accountable.
