Accra air pollution linked to 80% of burial permits citing heart and respiratory disease

Florence Kuukyi, the Director of Public Health at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), has reported that approximately 80% of burial permits submitted in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area cite cardiovascular or upper respiratory diseases as the cause of death.

This trend is linked to rising levels of air pollution in the region. Key contributors to the poor air quality include vehicular and truck emissions, which account for 40% of the pollution, and waste burning, which contributes 25%. The open burning of electronic waste, particularly at the Agbogbloshie e-waste hub located near Accra’s Central Business District, is a significant factor. Additionally, the use of solid fuels for domestic and commercial cooking exacerbates the issue.

Global data highlights the scale of the electronic waste problem. The World Health Organization estimates that 62 million tonnes of e-waste are discarded annually, with less than 25% recycled through formal channels. A 2024 study by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) found that 77.7% of the world’s e-waste is not formally collected or recycled.