ACCRA, Ghana, Oct 29 — Pollution in Africa’s fast-expanding cities is deadlier than thought, yet green solutions could save tens of thousands of lives and avert billions of dollars in damage, a report said Thursday.
“Air pollution (in African cities) is high and rising, it’s rising pretty quickly,” said Desmond Appiah, Ghana director at the Clean Air Fund, a British NGO which published the study. “It is a silent killer.”
Urban pollution has been widely overlooked in Africa, the study says.
Africa’s population is mostly rural and only recently followed other continents in making the exodus to the city.
Previous research published in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health estimated that toxic air — especially particulates and gases from industry and transport, but also from wood-burning stoves — led to 1.1 million premature deaths in 2019.
By comparison, HIV-AIDS related illnesses claimed 650,000 deaths globally the same year, according to UN figures.
The report looked at four fast-growing cities on the continent — Accra, Cairo, Johannesburg and Lagos — to factor in health, environmental and economic costs.
It compared outcomes between a “business-as-usual” trajectory to 2040 with a green scenario in which the cities adopt clean air measures, such as upgrading public transport, introducing cleaner cooking stoves and industrial technology.
Taking the greener path could save 125,000 lives and US$20 billion (RM94.4 billion) in economic costs, and cut those cities’ emissions by around 20 percent by 2040, the report said.
On the “business-as-usual” trajectory, the financial bill will soar more than sixfold.
“Africa’s economic growth will be driven by fast-expanding cities,” Clean Air Fund said.
“Over 65 per cent of the continent’s population is expected to live in urban areas by 2060. — ETX Studio
