The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called for a collaborative effort to curb rising air pollution and protect public health in the Greater Accra Region.

According to the Director of the Environmental Quality Unit at the EPA, Ms. Selina Amoah, air pollution continues to contribute to health challenges in the country, making urgent intervention necessary.

“Collaboration is essential to manage air quality effectively and achieve the desired outcomes,” she said at a workshop organized for some Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Accra on September 25, 2024.

Ms. Amoah pointed out that pollution sources are diverse and come from different sectors, but emphasized that measures must be implemented to manage and improve air quality.

The workshop, featuring Ms. Amoah, was organized by PSS Urbania Consult Limited, an environmental and research firm engaged by the Clean Air Fund (CAF) in Ghana, under the Breathe Accra initiative. This initiative aims to support 15 MMDAs in Accra to develop Air Quality Action Plans (AQAPs).

The Breathe Accra initiative is a project designed to equip communities in the Greater Accra Region with the tools to tackle air pollution and reduce climate emissions.

According to Ms. Amoah, air quality management efforts would help the MMDAs raise awareness, deepen knowledge, and improve understanding of air quality issues among decision-makers, stakeholders, and the public in Accra.

She also warned the public against practices such as open burning, labeling it illegal and a contributing factor to the worsening air pollution problem.

“Many people, in one way or another, contribute to this menace. We all need to be responsible enough to make sure we are contributing to solutions to curb this issue, rather than making the situation more unbearable,” she added.

Another representative of PSS Urbania Consult Limited, Dr. Fred Out-Larbi, highlighted that Ghana faces significant air quality challenges, exceeding the World Health Organization’s (WHO) interim targets.

The WHO Air Quality Guidelines provide recommended levels and interim targets for common air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2), which are crucial for Ghana as the country grapples with rising pollution levels, particularly in urban areas like Accra.

The Clean Air Fund’s mission is to support the government’s objective to improve air quality in Ghana and meet WHO guidelines by 2040.

Touching on the main goals of the Greater Accra Air Quality Management Plan, Dr. Out-Larbi mentioned that it aims to ensure collaborative governance to promote the effective implementation of the plans, which include conducting a preliminary scan of generic air pollution hotspots in the respective assemblies.