WHO is to hold a summit in Accra on Air Pollution
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that it will be hosting a summit on air pollution in Accra, Ghana in 2024.
The announcement by the organisation was captured in a news report by healthpolicywatch.com.
The summit, according to the report, will be the second ever held to address air pollution globally, which is a huge contributing factor in the death of millions of premature deaths every year.
The summit will be the first to be held in Africa.
Dr Maria Neira, the Director of the Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants of Health Department at WHO, indicated that air pollution is considered one of the biggest public health emergencies facing the world in recent times.
“Every single day we have news, scientific evidence and papers published demonstrating even more damage caused by exposure to air pollution,” said Neira. “In addition to the death, which is already horribly dramatic, we need to keep in mind that we are talking about chronic diseases… [that] take away the quality of life and bring costs for health systems,” she said.
Air pollution menace is responsible for nearly 7 million premature deaths globally each year.
The summit, scheduled to take place in Accra, indicates the growing global recognition that air pollution, which was once seen as an environmental issue, is now a serious health concern.
Also, the summit is expected to be attended by government representatives, businesses, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), experts and other stakeholders from around the world.
The quality of air in Ghana’s capital, Accra, remains poor and high above national standards and World Health Organisation (WHO) requirements.
The major contributors to poor air quality include indiscriminate mining, illegal forestry activities, extracts from manufacturing industries, vehicle emissions, and burning of waste, among others.
As of September 12, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pegged Ghana’s Air Quality Index (AQI) at 51 (μg/m³) microgram per cubic metre of air, which translates that the quality of air in the country is moderately healthy for the public.
It added that the air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants, there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
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