Air pollution claims 28,000 lives in Ghana yearly – AMA
The Director of Public Health at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Florence Kuukyi, has raised concerns over the worsening sanitation crisis in Accra, warning that the increasing levels of filth now pose a serious threat to public health and air quality.
She revealed that more than 28,000 people die each year in Ghana due to air pollution, the equivalent of one life lost every 19 minutes.
Describing the situation as “disheartening”, Ms Kuukyi said the combination of poor waste disposal, open defecation, and unregulated burning of refuse is fuelling outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and typhoid, while also contaminating the very air residents breathe.
“This is leading to several diseases, not just diarrhoea and typhoid. It also affects the air you breathe. Studies show that in Ghana, over 28,000 people die prematurely due to air pollution. This means that every 19 minutes, someone dies because of it,” she noted.
The AMA Public Health Director emphasised that sanitation must be treated as a shared national responsibility, not one left solely to the government.
“Sanitation in the country is a collective and collaborative effort. Everyone has a role to play when it comes to sanitation issues,” she added.
