Infinity 970, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) and Breathe Cities, a global initiative seeking to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions, have launched a campaign to educate the public on the health risks of polluted air.
The campaign, titled “Healthy Lungs, Healthy Life,” started in Accra on Thursday (August 27).
Members of the organising institutions first engaged commercial drivers and trotro operators at Odawna before extending the education to schools at Nima, Kanda and Newtown.
They plan to reach about 10 million people through television and radio to raise awareness.
Education
The Portfolio Manager for Breathe Cities Accra, Dr Elvis Kyere Gyeabour, said the campaign had also taken public education directly to communities to help residents understand the health effects of air pollution and adopt measures to reduce their exposure.
Dr Kyere Gyeabour said air pollution in Ghana stood at about five times the level recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), based on recorded averages.
He said polluted air could harm both people with underlying health conditions and otherwise healthy people.
“Air pollution is definitely affecting not only people who have underlying conditions, but even healthy people. So it is a problem which we all need to pay attention to,” he said.
He also identified open burning of waste as a major contributor to air pollution in Accra and urged residents to stop the practice.
Practices
The La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Health Director, Dr Caryn Agyeman Prempeh, said burning household waste, plastics and other materials released smoke that could cause coughing and breathing difficulties.
She added that these practices worsen asthma and increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
“Children, pregnant women, older persons and people with existing respiratory conditions face greater risks from polluted air.
“When waste is burned, the smoke does not remain where the fire is; it becomes part of the air we all breathe,” she said.
Dr Agyeman Prempeh called on residents, health authorities, municipal assemblies, environmental authorities and community leaders to work together to tackle air pollution.
For her part, the Executive Director of Infinity 970, Barbara Davies, said the NGO would continue to support public education programmes to encourage behavioural change and healthier environmental practices.
She added that the organisation was committed to promoting healthy living among Ghanaians, especially women and children.
