News
Let’s address air pollution, it’s a threat to public health
It is with great concern that I write this letter to bring to your notice a problem we seem to have overlooked as a country.
Recently, I was walking home by the roadside after visiting a friend at Kaneshie when a commercial vehicle passed by with heavy smoke emanating from its exhaust pipe.
The smoke was so thick and made it difficult to breathe for a few minutes. This drew the attention of people around as some complained and held their nostrils. Some even started raining insults on the driver.
After the car passed, I stood for 30 minutes thinking about the effect of breathing in such gaseous material from 10 different cars that emit same in just a day.
After pondering over it, I said to myself that this is a situation and I and all others must be protected against.
As humans, the air we breathe plays a vital role in our existence. Imagine the outcome of finding yourself in a place where there is no or limited air to breathe. The outcome will definitely not be a pleasant one. This tells us how air is very important for our survival.
However, the quality of air we breathe is very important, as polluted air is a threat to our health.
Unfortunately, in Ghana, it is sad to say that most of the air we breathe is polluted with smoke from vehicles, factories, charcoal burning and others.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 28,000 Ghanaians die prematurely every year as a result of air pollution. Such a statistic should be a major cause for concern.
It is the reason Ghana must intensify its effort in addressing the issue.
I think it’s about time the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and other regulatory bodies and agencies began to ensure that those who pollute the air are dealt with severely.
If we fail to implement some of these measures as a country, then I won’t be surprised if numbers of Ghanaians who die prematurely as a result of air pollution as provided by the WHO doubles in a few years to come.
It’s time to ensure that Ghanaians get quality air to breathe to save lives.
Abdul Wadud,
Osu