Air pollution continues to pose a serious public health threat, with 99% of the global population breathing contaminated air, according to alarming data shared at a Capacity Building Workshop for Journalists on Air Quality and Climate Change Reporting held at the Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly.
Delivering a presentation at the workshop, Dr. Stanley Kweku Yaidoo, Municipal Director of the Ghana Health Service, revealed that air pollution remains one of the leading risk factors for premature death worldwide, contributing to 8.1 million deaths in 2021 alone. He noted that the burden falls disproportionately on low- and middle-income countries, where weak air quality management systems and rapid urbanization exacerbate the crisis.
Dr. Yaidoo highlighted that children are among the most vulnerable, with over 700,000 deaths recorded in 2021 due to exposure to polluted air. In Ghana, an estimated 28,000 premature deaths occur annually as a result of air pollution-related diseases such as respiratory infections, stroke, heart disease, and lung cancer.
“Some towns in Ghana have PM2.5 levels up to ten times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended limits,” Dr. Yaidoo cautioned, calling for stricter enforcement of environmental standards, enhanced public awareness, and stronger multi-sectoral collaboration to combat the growing health emergency.
The workshop, organized by Quail-Breeze in collaboration with Climate Watch, aimed to enhance journalists’ understanding of the linkages between air quality, public health, and climate change, while promoting accurate and solution-oriented reporting to inspire policy action and community engagement.
