Priscilla Oye Ofori
Accra, Sept. 5, GNA — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has charged Ghanaians to help reduce global emissions to enjoy good health and wealth.
It said the burden of diseases associated with air pollution, including cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, upper, lower respiratory tract infections, and pulmonary, which accounted for seven million deaths annually was a major concern to the international community.
This was contained in a statement issued by the EPA ahead of the celebration of the third International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, marked annually on September 7 to prioritise the need for healthy air for the well-being of mankind.
The day, also to keep conversations broad enough to encompass other critical issues such as climate change, human and planetary health for sustainable development, is on the theme: “The air we share.”
The statement said the situation was extremely severe in low- and middle-income countries, Ghana inclusive, where pollutant levels exceeded national limit and World Health Organisation (WHO) interim targeted 3 values of 35 and 25µg/m3 respectively.
Breathing polluted air, it said, increased a person’s risk of heart disease, lung diseases and respiratory infections, type 2 diabetes, among others (The State of Global Air Report, 2022).
‘‘According to WHO 2022 Air Quality Database, 40 per cent of countries have no ground-level particulate matter monitors to assess the quality of air. The economic cost of the burden of diseases worldwide is USD 250 billion,’’ the statement said.
It said the situation was not different in Ghana, where air quality monitoring results indicated higher levels of particulate matter, and the economic cost of air pollution in the country was estimated at USD 2.5 billion, approximately 4.2 per cent of GDP (World Bank, CEA, 2019).
The statement said to fulfil its mandate of co-managing, protect and enhance the country’s biophysical environment, and seek common solutions to global environmental challenges for the benefit of all, the Agency implemented many interventions to improve air quality.
The interventions include capacity building of Ghanaian scientists in air quality monitoring, analysis, interpretation, data management, modelling and forecast, development of sustainable low emission transport strategies, including soot free bus standards, electric mobility and motor vehicle inventory and fuel economy standards.
The EPA and relevant stakeholders, it said, would be undertaking review of the existing GAMA Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) towards ensuring air quality in the country.
GNA