The Director of Public Health at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Florence Kuukyi, has warned that escalating sanitation failures in the capital are fueling a deadly air pollution crisis, claiming over 28,000 premature deaths annually—one every 19 minutes—across Ghana.
Kuukyi described the situation as “disheartening,” linking rampant filth to outbreaks of cholera, typhoid, and other diseases, while exacerbating poor air quality through open burning and waste mismanagement.
“This is leading to a number of diseases… It also has an impact on the air you breathe,”she stated, citing studies showing PM2.5 levels in Accra exceeding WHO guidelines by 11 times, causing 28,000 deaths yearly more than malaria and HIV combined.
Under Ghana’s “polluter pays” system, daily solid waste generation hits 12,710 tonnes, but only 10% is properly collected, leaving millions to burn refuse—a key pollution source.
Kuukyi stressed shared responsibility: “People generate waste and do not want to take on that responsibility, and they want to push everything on the government.”
She called for coordinated action from government, private collectors, and residents to curb the crisis, which disproportionately affects infants and the elderly, shortening life expectancy by 4.5-6.2 years per the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI).
While Ghana lacks a nationwide air quality policy, sector-specific guidelines exist, with initiatives like Accra’s clean air interventions projected to save $216 million by 2040.
