Air pollution is the second biggest cause of death in Africa after HIV/AIDS.
This is according to a report by Clean Air Fund released on Monday 7.
Clean Air said that in 2019, air pollution had caused the death of 1.1 million people in Africa, as found in the Global Burden of Disease report for 2019.
“The rise in air pollution is attributed to the growth of cities in Africa which continue to grow and expand at a fast rate,” they said.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) predicts that by 2030, the world is expected to have 43 megacities of more than 10 million people.
By the end of the century, Africa will host five of the 10 largest megacities in the world.
“Over 65 per cent of Africa’s population is expected to live in urban areas by 2060,” Clean Air said.
Without ambitious plans to adopt healthy and sustainable urban development, rapid urbanisation will increase the damaging health, economic and social impacts of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in these cities.
Already, Kenya is working on building two cities, Tatu City and Konza City which will be metropolises.
Nairobi itself generates about 3,000 metric tonnes of waste daily and most of it is disposed of at the Dandora dumpsite, which has been full for years now.
Residents of the area have been suffering from chronic respiratory diseases for years from methane emissions from the waste.
Clean air is calling on countries to prioritise air pollution along with climate change solutions,
“Governments could unlock a raft of health, environmental and economic benefits for their citizens,” they said.
President William Ruto gave a speech at COP27 in Egypt on behalf of African leaders on Monday.
In his speech, he called on Western countries to contribute towards climate action financing in Africa to help combat the crisis collectively.