The World Health Organisation, WHO says about 2, 000 Ghanaians are killed by air pollution yearly.
Speaking to Joy FM, Technical Officer at WHO Thiago Herry said globally over 7 million people die from air pollution and for Ghana, 2,000 people die from air pollution-related conditions.
"Air pollution today kills around 7 million people Globally, for Greater Accra region the initial estimate derived from collaborating effort of ...... shows that every single year about 2,000 people die due to air pollution-related conditions."
Responding to the alarming deaths recorded due to air pollution mostly from exhaust fumes in Ghana, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA said they will begin a clampdown in June on vehicles that emit poisonous fumes in the capital.
Deputy Director EPA, Ebenezer Appah-Sarpong said, "we've been working to set a standard for vehicular emissions and that has been done together with the Ghana Standards Authority, so now we have a national standard for vehicular emissions, the vehicle has to go through some remedial process to ensure that the engine is fixed before you can be brought back onto the road, the standard certainly will be outdoor this year June."
Air pollution
Waste burning and car emissions have been identified as the major causes of air pollution in the country.
Most vehicles on the roads are not road worthy as they emit fumes that are dangerous to the health of Ghanaians.
The Resilience and Sustainability Advisor to AMA, Desmond Appiah in workshop organised in Accra recommended that “On transport, for instance there should be investment in mass transit, promotion of transport demand management strategies such as city compactness , decentralisation of services and measures to reduce trip distance and improve infrastructure to sustainably increase cycling and sustain walking levels as well as actions to improve the fleet’s fuel and technology on both private and public vehicles."
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