Accra: Outdoor air pollution cost Ghana an estimated GHS28 billion (US$1.9 billion) in economic losses in 2024, representing about 2.3 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report on the Investment Case for Improved Ambient Air Quality and Health has disclosed.
According to Ghana News Agency, the study, undertaken in collaboration with Breathe Cities and funded by Clean Air Fund, said ambient, or outdoor, air pollution also contributed to 12,870 deaths and more than 316,000 disease cases within the same year, underscoring its growing health and economic burden on the country. Stroke accounted for the largest share of air pollution-related deaths at about 47 percent, followed by ischaemic heart disease with 21 percent and acute lower respiratory infections at 17.4 percent.
Acute lower respiratory infections also recorded the highest number of disease cases linked to outdoor air pollution. Ms Shaima Hussein, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Ghana, said air pollution remained one of the world's most preventable environmental threats, with nearly 99 percent of the global population breathing air that exceeded World Health Organisation guidelines. She said the investment case therefore provided robust evidence to guide coherent, multisectoral action in Ghana to minimise the situation if not entirely eradicate it.
She urged stakeholders to translate the report's findings into practical interventions to protect public health and drive resilient socio-economic growth. Mr Desmond Appiah, Country Lead, Clean Air Fund, said the report would help communicate the true cost of air pollution in a language policymakers understood, making it easier to prioritise action and investment.
He said Clean Air Fund had, since 2022, sought to build a strong local evidence base to demonstrate the health and economic impact of air pollution in Ghana. 'We wanted to contextualise the situation in our own country and in our cities,' he said, adding that the report's recommendations, including a national air quality policy and stronger multi-sectoral collaboration, provided practical solutions for implementation.
Mr Solomon Laryea at the Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate of the Ministry of Health, said the investment case would strengthen evidence-based policymaking and support implementation of the country's Health National Adaptation Plan. He reaffirmed the Ministry's commitment to working with UNDP and partners to translate the report's recommendations into concrete policies and interventions.