By Albert Oppong-Ansah, GNA
Accra, Sept. 7, GNA – The Clean Air Fund (CAF) has called for intensified efforts to end indiscriminate waste burning in Accra, saying transport emissions and waste burning remain major sources of air pollution in the metropolis.
The interventions to improve waste management and the transport system were critical to reducing air pollution and its associated health and economic costs.
Mr Desmond Appiah, Ghana Country Lead of the CAF, was speaking on the side lines of a community engagement organised by Infinity 970, with support from the CAF and 13 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra Region, to mark Clean Air Day.
He said the Stop Waste Burning campaign was therefore a major intervention that required sustained public support and enforcement to achieve lasting behavioural change.
“Any activity or intervention that can help us improve our waste management, reduce burning and improve our transport system is a laudable idea,” he said.
He said Ghana had a national plan to stop waste burning and was also investing significant resources in improving waste management.
Mr Appiah, however, stressed the need for citizens to understand that burning waste was not merely a sanitation problem but also a serious public health issue.
He said, an investment case report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated that Ghana was losing about $1.9 billion annually through diseases associated with air pollution.
The losses, he explained, included productivity losses from missed working days, healthcare costs and the burden of diseases associated with exposure to polluted air.
Mr Appiah said the situation required collective action to improve waste collection, segregation and recycling, rather than relying on burning as a means of disposal.
“Waste, when properly segregated, can become a resource for another industry and create jobs,” he said.
He commended the 13 assemblies participating in the Stop Waste Burning campaign for strengthening their legal frameworks and providing mechanisms for residents to report cases of waste burning.
He said a dedicated telephone number had also been launched to enable residents to report incidents, allowing the assemblies to respond promptly.
Mr Appiah said the review of the assemblies’ bylaws provided an additional legal basis for enforcement, alongside existing environmental laws and regulations.
Alhaji Muhammed Haruna Awal, Municipal Chief Executive for Ayawaso North, said the Assembly was committed to improving air quality through public education and improved waste management.
He said the Assembly had started sensitisation programmes in schools to educate young people about the health risks associated with poor air quality.
“We have started with the schools. As time goes on, we will move to the entire community,” he said.
Alhaji Awal said educating children was strategic because they could carry the message home and influence their parents and other household members to avoid practices such as indiscriminate waste burning.
Ms Barbara Davis, Head of Infinity 970, said the campaign sought to bridge the gap between public awareness of air pollution and understanding of its health consequences.
She said many people knew that smoke was harmful but were unaware of the extent to which air pollution could contribute to serious diseases.
“People know that smoke isn’t good for them, they just don’t know what the damage is,” she said.
Ms Davis said some residents continued to burn waste because they weighed the immediate cost of proper waste disposal against risks that appeared distant or invisible.
She said sustained education and community engagement could help people understand that the small cost of proper waste disposal was preferable to the health and economic consequences of exposure to polluted air.
She called on the assemblies to complement sensitisation with enforcement of existing bylaws.
“The rules are there. There are bylaws. If you burn, you must be sanctioned,” she said.
Ms Davis also advocated incentives for households to segregate their waste, saying such schemes could reduce the volume of waste requiring disposal and create economic opportunities through recycling and buy-back programmes.
She urged the assemblies to provide practical alternatives to burning, respond to complaints from residents and enforce sanctions where necessary.
GNA
Editor: Linda Asante Agyei
Reporter: Albert Oppong-Ansah
Email: [email protected]