Accra’s air pollution crisis has been documented for nearly three decades, with early monitoring efforts led by the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana in partnership with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and USAID. As population growth, traffic congestion, industrial activity and waste mismanagement increased, these early data paved the way for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Air Quality Management Plan (GAMA-AQMP). The plan, launched in 2018, set out a seven-year roadmap (2018 to 2025) to improve air quality, strengthen governance and protect public health across one of West Africa’s fastest-urbanising corridors. With only days left to the conclusion of its implementation period, the Alliance for Sustainability Education (ASEC) presents an assessment of the plan’s achievements, gaps and the priorities that must guide the next phase.
Understanding the Problem the AQMP Set Out to Address
By 2018, air pollution in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area had become a major environmental and public health challenge. Rapid urbanization, emissions from ageing vehicles, industrial processes, household fuel use, open burning of waste and seasonal Harmattan dust were driving concentrations of particulate matter far above international health standards. EPA Ghana estimated that approximately 2,800 people in Greater Accra died from air-pollution exposure in 2015, with projections showing this could rise to 4,600 by 2030 without additional interventions. Health modelling using the BenMAP-CE tool linked these deaths to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infections and lung cancer, highlighting the serious health implications of continued inaction. Adults between the ages of 30 and 99 are expected to bear the greatest burden, underscoring how air pollution disproportionately affects working-age and older populations who may already be managing underlying health conditions
EPA Ghana also assessed an alternative air-quality scenario that incorporates the expected benefits of interventions under the AQMP across the transport, industrial and residential waste-burning sectors. This alternative scenario reflects lower particulate matter concentrations compared to the baseline forecast. The analysis suggests that cause-specific premature mortalities associated with PM2.5 exposure could potentially decrease by approximately 430 deaths in 2030. These findings demonstrate that even modest emission reductions could generate significant public-health benefits and highlight the importance of consistent implementation of the AQMP.
The GAMA-AQMP responded with five strategic goals covering emissions reduction, establishing enforceable standards, introducing vehicular emissions testing, reducing open burning, improving monitoring networks and promoting research and public awareness.
What PM2.5 and PM10 Mean for Public Health in Accra
Particulate matter remains the most harmful component of Accra’s air pollution burden. PM10 refers to inhalable particles with diameters of 10 micrometres or less. These particles are common near roadsides and construction sites, and during Harmattan, they come from dust and sea salts. Long-term exposure can aggravate asthma and bronchitis and increase hospital admissions.
PM2.5 consists of fine particles with diameters of 2.5 micrometres or less, small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. In Accra, PM2.5 mainly originates from vehicle exhaust, industrial sources, biomass smoke and open burning. The World Health Organization’s guideline for annual average PM2.5 is 5 micrograms per cubic metre. Ghana’s recent averages of 28 to 35.8 micrograms per cubic metre are about six to seven times higher. The State of Global Air 2025 report estimates more than 32,500 pollution-related deaths in Ghana in 2023, up from approximately 28,000 in 2019, demonstrating an increasing national health burden.
Where the GAMA-AQMP Achieved Progress
The AQMP made notable progress in monitoring, standard setting and establishing the regulatory framework needed for long-term air-quality governance. At the start of the plan, Accra had about 15 monitoring stations. By 2023, the network had expanded to more than 60 sensors covering residential, commercial, industrial and roadside environments including Achimota, Dansoman, East Legon, Amasaman, Kasoa and Kaneshie (EPA Ghana, 2018; GNA, 2023). This expansion has significantly improved the availability and spatial distribution of air-quality data.
Regulatory reforms have also been substantial. The Ghana Standards Authority introduced GS 1236:2019, which outlines requirements for ambient air quality and point-source emissions. In 2025, Parliament passed the Environmental Protection (Air Quality Management) Regulations, 2025 (L.I. 2507), converting earlier guidelines into legally enforceable standards and giving EPA Ghana stronger authority to regulate emitters. Ghana also adopted a national sulphur-content limit of 50 ppm for fuels, an important step toward reducing pollutants from vehicle emissions.
However, progress in transport-sector reforms faced a significant setback in 2025 when the Emissions Levy Act of 2023 was repealed. Although the levy was imperfect and relied on engine capacity rather than measured tailpipe emissions, it represented the only nationwide fiscal instrument that signalled a cost for higher-emitting vehicles. Its repeal removed even this weak incentive and further delayed the transition to a comprehensive emissions-testing regime. The reversal reflects broader inconsistencies in Ghana’s approach to vehicle pollution control, where political considerations often overshadow long-term public-health priorities. Without a clear replacement policy that directly measures and regulates emissions, Ghana risks undermining the regulatory gains achieved under the AQMP and widening the gap between environmental commitments and real reductions in urban air pollution.
Where Implementation Fell Short
Despite these advances, Accra’s air quality has continued to deteriorate. The 2024 World Air Quality Report recorded a national average PM2.5 concentration of 35.8 micrograms per cubic metre, an increase of 18.5 percent since 2022 and one of the highest in the world. Ghana ranked as the fourteenth most polluted country globally. Nationally, pollution-related mortality continues to rise, confirming that improvements in monitoring and regulation have not translated into cleaner air.
Several key AQMP objectives remain unrealised. The planned mandatory vehicular emissions-testing programme in collaboration with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority was not implemented. In its place, the Emissions Levy Act 2023 introduced charges based on engine capacity rather than actual tailpipe emissions, offering only a weak incentive for cleaner vehicles. The repeal of the Act in 2025 has left an even greater vacuum. Efforts to curb open burning also faced difficulties. In Ga South Municipality, roughly 40 percent of households still burn their waste due to inadequate waste collection and insufficient enforcement of bylaws. Structural challenges in transport, waste management and urban governance have limited the plan’s ability to achieve meaningful reductions in emissions, particularly in low-income and peri-urban communities.
What the Next Phase Must Prioritise
Updating the AQMP in 2025 offers an opportunity to close the gap between institutional progress and real-world outcomes. Several priority actions should guide the next phase.
First, monitoring systems must be expanded and upgraded to include more continuous PM2.5 and PM10 stations, with a unified real-time data platform that is accessible to the public. Air-quality data should be integrated into the planning and decision-making processes of metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, ensuring that evidence shapes urban development, transport planning and waste management.
Second, robust emissions inventories should be developed at the district level. These inventories will help local authorities design targeted interventions around major traffic corridors, industrial zones and informal waste sites. Completing and fully operationalising EPA’s air-quality laboratory will be essential in strengthening analytical capacity and enforcing standards for both industrial and vehicular emissions.
Third, Ghana must replace reliance on engine-capacity levies with a genuine vehicular emissions-testing programme in partnership with DVLA. Efficient, transparent and technology-based testing will support reductions in tailpipe emissions and help modernise the vehicle fleet.
Fourth, reducing open burning will require expanding waste-collection services and enforcing sanitation bylaws more rigorously. This is especially urgent in peri-urban areas where service delivery gaps contribute most to uncontrolled burning.
Finally, the next AQMP must embed strong public engagement and accountability mechanisms. Sustained awareness campaigns, school-based programmes and regular public reporting of air-quality data and progress will empower communities to advocate for cleaner air and demand implementation from public institutions.
Ghana at a Turning Point
Seven years after the GAMA-AQMP was introduced, Ghana has made significant strides in monitoring and regulation but has not yet achieved cleaner, healthier air. With PM2.5 concentrations remaining several times higher than global health guidelines and pollution-related deaths rising, the next phase of Ghana’s air-quality strategy must move beyond measurement to decisive action. If Ghana can match its technical and legal progress with stronger enforcement, improved services and enhanced community engagement, Accra can become a leading example of how African cities confront air pollution as a public health and environmental justice priority.
About the Author
Michael Baidoo is an emerging researcher with interests in urban policy planning, environmental sustainability and community advocacy. His work focuses on how environmental policies translate into practice at the local level in rapidly urbanising contexts such as Greater Accra. He applies skills in Geographic Information Systems and spatial analysis to examine the intersection of air quality, public health and urban governance. He is an active member of the Ocean Initiative Hub and YouthMappers and contributes to sustainability projects and open-data initiatives that promote environmental awareness and local development.
