Ghana could soon have a national clean air policy by the end of 2026 to guide efforts at tackling air pollution, the Country Lead for the Clean Air Fund, Desmond Appiah, has revealed.
Speaking at a workshop for journalists focused on promoting excellence in clean air and climate change reporting, Desmond Appiah said stakeholders are pushing to ensure that by the close of this year, at least a draft policy document is ready to serve as a national framework for managing air quality.
“It’s one of our goals that by close of this year, we should have at least a draft national air quality policy or clean air policy—whichever way they name it. We need to have something which is a guiding principle for how Ghana intends to achieve this goal,” he said.
The workshop, organised by the Clean Air Fund in partnership with New Narratives, brought together journalists from across Ghana and a journalist from Liberia to deepen their understanding of air pollution, public health, and climate change, and to improve the quality of reporting on these issues.
Desmond Appiah explained that Ghana’s current air quality governance structure is fragmented, with about 29 different regulations touching on aspects of air pollution control.
According to him, this has created inconsistencies and weakened enforcement.
“Because we have 29 separate regulations that have an impact on air policy, instead of having one policy and then working to open it, we have gone the opposite direction,” he noted.
He stressed that a unified policy is no longer optional, describing it as “not negotiable” if the country is serious about addressing air pollution and its health impacts.
Air pollution remains a major public health concern in Ghana, where vehicle emissions, open burning, industrial activities, and dust from unpaved roads continue to worsen air quality.
Studies have linked poor air quality to rising cases of respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, and premature deaths.
Mr Appiah further disclosed that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has agreed to play a guiding role in the policy development process, even though the formal mandate lies with the sector ministry.
“Last year, the EPA accepted that even though it’s not their mandate—it’s the mandate of the ministry—they will be guided by the EPA. So finally, we had a meeting here,” he added.
He expressed optimism that the collaboration between government agencies, civil society, development partners, and the media will accelerate progress toward a coherent national clean air framework.
Participants at the workshop were encouraged to use community-centred reporting to highlight the real-life impacts of air pollution and hold duty bearers accountable.
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