The Green Africa Youth Organisation (GAYO) has organised a training workshop for officers of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) from the Greater Accra Region on air-quality monitoring and disaster preparedness.
Held yesterday in Accra, the workshop is part of a national effort to integrate real-time environmental data into disaster response, strengthen inter-agency coordination, and promote a more climate-resilient country.
Opening the programme, the Greater Accra Regional Director of NADMO, Mr Dennis Nartey Adjarno, described the training as timely, citing new data showing that more than 31,000 deaths are recorded annually in Ghana due to poor air quality. He said although the numbers are alarming, many Ghanaians remain unaware of the severity of the problem, even though most pollution sources are preventable.
"People are oblivious of the fact that air pollution can kill," he warned, linking recent increases in respiratory illnesses, cancers, and other complications to polluted air. He identified refuse burning, household smoke, poorly maintained factory chimneys, vehicle fumes, and emissions from road construction as major contributors to toxic air in communities.
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Mr Adjarno outlined that the new skills would enable officers to deploy air-quality sensors effectively and intensify public education in markets, lorry stations, funerals, and other crowded spaces. He added that NADMO would work with GAYO and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to introduce labelled waste-segregation bins and scale up household-level sensitisation.
Touching on the region's waste crisis, he noted that plastics constitute nearly 80 per cent of waste generated in Accra, contributing to flooding and poor sanitation. He stressed that long-term behavioural change must begin in schools in order to help children understand the importance of separating plastic from organic waste. "If we segregate our waste properly, we reduce burning, reduce air pollution, and protect our health," he underlined.
The Project Coordinator of GAYO, Ms Mabel Naa Amorkor Laryea, indicated that the training seeks to build the capacity of EHOs and NADMO officers in using and interpreting data from newly donated mobile air-quality sensors. She urged the public to support monitoring efforts by reporting pollution hotspots and adopting responsible waste practices.
