Barirega Akankwasa, the Executive Director of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), has stated that there is an increase in air pollution from an annual average of 39.5 µg/m3 in 2019 to 41 µg/m3 in 2024.
He stated that it is approximately eight times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended annual average of 5 µg/m3.
Akankwasa made this revelation while addressing the media at the launch of air quality awareness week at the Uganda Media Centre (UMC) on Monday, May 6, 2024.
According to Akankwasa, the purpose of Air Quality Awareness Week is to raise public awareness about the importance of air quality to human health and the environment and what we can do to continuously improve air quality around us.
He stated that according to pollution studies conducted in Kampala, transportation is the leading cause of air pollution.
“Studies on sources of pollution conducted in Kampala city revealed that transport is the leading cause of air pollution, followed by domestic and biomass burning. Other sources of air pollution are industrial emissions and dust released from untarmacked roads,” Akankwasa said.
Akankwasa further stated that in Uganda, poor air quality increases the disease burden, with approximately 31,600 people dying each year from air pollution-related diseases, primarily in cities.
He urged all Ugandans, government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), the private sector, and civil society to support the aforementioned interventions in order to effectively address our country’s escalating air pollution crisis.
To address the bad situation, the government of Uganda has come up with several measures to address the problem.
Awareness Week is being commemorated from May 6–10, 2024, under the theme “Knowing your air to protect human health and the environment.”
According to World Health Organization data, air pollution is associated with 6.7 million premature deaths annually.
Air pollution, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and tropospheric ozone and their precursors, is the leading environmental risk to human health, with 99% of people worldwide exposed to air pollution levels that exceed the WHO guidelines.
