[ad_1]
By
Jessica Dele Akakpo / Jacqueline Appiagyei, RNG
Accra, June 7, GNA – The Executive Director
Mohammed Adjei Sowah, head of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA),
announced its intention to install an air quality monitoring sensor in Accra in order to
real-time information about the quality of air in and around the city to inform
decision making.
He noted that the air pollution was silent
killer without borders, known to kill about nine million people each year
around the world, adding that in Accra 2000 deaths from air pollution have been recorded
annually.
"The burden of disease indicates an increase
trend in reported cases of lung disease, stroke, asthma, cancers and many
others across our city, as is the case in other cities of the developing world ",
he said in a statement released to mark the celebration of World Environment Day in
Accra.
The day was celebrated on the theme: "Beat
Air pollution "
World Environment Day is an annual event organized by
United Nations to promote awareness and action for the protection of
environment.
Mr. Sowah noted that, as part of efforts to
to meet the challenges of air pollution in the city, the Assembly
had distributed tree seedlings to the basic schools of the metropolis,
set up a waste separation program in primary schools to promote recycling,
distributed bins to high schools and communities such as
Jamestown and Mamprobi to discourage burning waste.
He said that the Assembly was in addition,
promote energy efficiency in public buildings and high schools and had
installed a five-kilowatt solar power plant (kilowatts) for Accra Girls SHS.
"I signed the city on the
The # Cities4Forests initiative and in the next two weeks; the city is going
start a tree-planting exercise in elementary schools in the city.
He said that he had also hired the city to
50% reduction of waste sent to landfill by 2025, hence the partnership with the private sector
sector to build more recycling plants in the city to complete the
the recently constructed waste recovery, recycling and composting plant
mortuary road.
The second lady and an ambbadador of the
Clean Cooking Alliance, Samira Bawumia, said that the local theme "Clean
The air, our lifeline and shared responsibility "summarized Ghana's position on the airwaves
Pollution.
She said, "The use of clean, safe and efficient stoves
can reduce exposure to harmful smoke and provide many environment and climate
benefits, adding that access to clean cooking solutions improves health, reduces
poverty, protect the environment, improve livelihoods, improve gender equality
and empower women at one stroke. "
Deputy Minister of the Environment,
Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and Asokwa MP in Ashanti
Patricia Appiagyei, stressed that the government was working
badiduously to create sustainable economic models in the management of
the environment and waste, by adopting the concept of circular economy.
She said that her ministry was working with the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure the effective implementation of
environmental laws and directives, such as vehicle emission standards,
and to ban vehicles that do not comply with emission and efficiency standards.
She encouraged everyone to take
concrete steps to make the planet greener and cleaner
poverty.
"Plant a tree, clean your premises
gutter, avoid emissions, do not burn in the open air and hold businesses
responsible for their environmental practices, "she said.
The day was also marked by the planting of
trees in the streets of enclave ministries in Accra.
GNA
Source link
