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Story Reported Gideon Kotey
The Coalition of Air Quality Management (CAQM) a group made up of Civil Society Organizations, the Academia, Private Sector Players, the Media and other interest groups aimed at mobilizing grassroots efforts into active Air Quality and Environmental Protection in communities within Ghana is calling for concerted efforts by all stakeholders in ensuring that the menace of air pollution and environmental degradation is reduced drastically in the country.
The Coalition made this call in a Communique issued in Accra and copied to the media.
Per the communique, the Coalition says it was working with the World Bank Group and the Environmental Protection Agency to advance the course of civil society in air quality and environmental management and to develop a blue print for the supervision, advocacy, awareness and stakeholder engagement in ensuring that Ghana improves it’s efforts in Air Pollution and other environmental nuisances.
Full communique below:
The coalition of Air quality and Environmental Management is a group of CSO actors in environmental
and Air quality interest organizations involving academia and Private sector as well as the Media. the
group believes in mobilizing grass root effort into active Air quality and Environmental management
actors in the communities of Ghana realizing the role played by existing Environmental and Air quality
actors in Academia, Civil Society , the media and Private Sector
Recent data by the World Bank Ghana Country Environmental Analysis (2020) shows, Air pollution tops as
Ghana’s environmental dangers which is accounting for around 8% of total yearly mortality (GNA). Since air
pollution’s diseases are disproportionately borne by infants and the elderly .Illnesses associated with air
pollution-related deaths include; lung cancer, ischemic heart diseases, stroke, acute lower respiratory infection
and chronic pulmonary diseases like bronchitis and emphysema. The report also revealed that the economic cost
of air pollution is estimated at US $ 2.5 Billion or roughly 4.2% of the country’s 2017 Gross Domestic Product
(GDP).More so, the impacts of climate and deteriorating air quality threaten to erode development and gains
and worsen the health of Ghanaians. As it evident that financial cost of treatment of air pollution-related
diseases are very high.
Global evidence also shows that Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any
chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. Household
combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution.
Pollutants of major public health concern include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide
and sulfur dioxide. Outdoor and indoor air pollution cause respiratory and other diseases and is an important
source of morbidity and mortality. Air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year.
WHO data shows that almost all of the global population (99%) breathe air that exceeds WHO guideline
limits containing high levels of pollutants, with low- and middle-income countries suffering from the highest
exposures. WHO is supporting countries to address air pollution from smog hanging over cities to smoke inside
the home, air pollution poses a major threat to health and climate. The combined effects of ambient (outdoor)
and household air pollution cause millions of premature deaths every year, largely as a result of increased
mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory
infections.
As a mobilized group we have resolved to work with the World Bank Group and the Environmental
Protection Agency to advance the course of Civil society in Air Quality and Environmental Management
as a result we hereby declare our expectations from today until the next 3 years in advocating for the
following
• Establish the vibrant and Growing Air Pollution and Environmental Management coalition
dedicated to working with Academia , Media Private and Government
• Develop a working activity Manual which spelt out key activities in supervision, Advocacy
Awareness and Stakeholder engagement in seeing Ghana improve its efforts in Air Pollution and
other environmental Nuisance like plastic waste
• Organize regional consultation and engagement with regional players in Air quality and Air
Pollution
• Periodically meet with the media and private sector players to engage government in setting up
appropriate laws and Policy to manage air pollution and ensure the needed logistics are
available to measure air quality
• Promote public education in communities and also offers solutions for managing environmental
nuisance in Ghana
• Organize high level meetings with industry players and EPA to institute appropriate
environmental safeguards for the safety of the communities and Ghanaians in General
• Establish a scheme to awarding cleaner and less polluted healthy environment communities as
motivation for heavily polluted communities to adopt and change behavior
• Develop social media messages and behavior change communications to advance electronic
campaigning on air Quality and Environmental Management
• Develop Brief for publication into the print and electronic Media as well as setting up Air
Pollution and Air quality environmental management media agenda for discussion
• Engage with Air Quality and Environmental Management Platform members to periodically peer
review its activities and discus future plans
.We hereby commit to this aspirations as part of our common understanding as a coalition to see
Ghana reduce it air pollution menace and advance the promotion of quality air and reduce
environmental nuisance
Signed
Thematic Working group Members on behalf of the entire coalition.
Isaac Ampomah
Lead person
Advocacy and Sensitization
Air Quality and Environmental Management coalition .
Source: www.truthtvnews.com
Editor: Nii Amon