Every day, diesel fumes choke Ghana’s highways. Thousands are dying. Children breathe air 100%more polluted than kids abroad. Ghana had the solution decades ago-railways that could move freight cleanly and efficiently. But broken promises and stalled projects left the country with less than 1% of cargo on rail. The cost? Ghana’s health, roads and future….
Communities along the Ofankor–Nsawam road are facing serious health risks as dust from road construction contributes to rising respiratory illnesses and other diseases among residents. Prince Owusu Asiedu reports in this social media Video. Ofankor-Nsawam road: Dust, diseases and deaths This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Clean Air Reporting Project. Funds…
Residents along the Ofankor–Pokuasi–Nsawam highway are paying the price for a reconstruction project that is two years behind schedule, with prolonged disruption to daily life and local livelihoods. Prince Owusu Asiedu reports in this social media Video. To read more about this story click this link: https://www.adomonline.com/residents-pay-price-as-ofankor-nsawam-highway-project-delays-health-workers-warn-of-rise-in-air-pollution-related-illnesses/ Nsawam Ofankor road dust This story was a…
Communities in and around Accra’s Agbogbloshie are launching a model clean-air response with support from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to confront a resurgence of dangerous air pollution that harms health and could serve as a blueprint for other cities. New Narratives’ Joyce Gyekye reports from Agbogbloshie for GBC online. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o7vFx3ONIA-o3dk-51tBueVmUyEE-Xkd/view?usp=share_link This story was a collaboration…
By Joyce Gyekye As Pollution Returns to Agbogbloshie, the Metropolitan Assembly and Nearby Communities Take Action in What Experts Say Could Be a Model For Cleaning Toxic Air Across the Country. OLD FADAMA, Accra – In 2021, government cleared the Agbogbloshie e-waste site, once condemned as one of the world’s most toxic places. But four…
By Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith Summary BALUNGU CHECKPOINT, Upper East Region – Abdul Malik eases his heavy truck – a 12-wheel trailer hauling a 40-foot container – into a lower gear as it strains under its load. As he approaches this checkpoint in the region’s Talensi District, the roar of the 18-year-old truck’s engine gives way…
When Isaac Peprah bought his car, a Honda Accord, he thought he had finally escaped the long tro-tro commutes between East Legon and Spintex that had taken hours from his day. But barely a week after he bought it, a group of young men from a makeshift mechanic shop flagged him down near a junction…
Adeeza’s breaths came in short, rapid bursts. As the bus rumbled from Bolgatanga toward Accra each inhalation felt like fire in her lungs. For the asthma patient, these moments signaled mortal danger — her body screaming that something was triggering her compromised respiratory system. Adeeza scanned the bus, desperately searching for the regular culprits. Strong…
The Ofankor-Pokuasi-Nsawam Highway was once a vital transportation artery for the local economy, but legal battles and government debt owed contractors have delayed the reconstruction by two years as surrounding communities face a range of problems. Key among them is their health. Experts warn the delayed project has become a major health hazard for over…
Accra’s toxic air pollution is hitting poorer families the hardest, widening health gaps and deepening environmental injustice across the city. Jennifer Ambolley reports in this social media Video. To read more about this story click this link: https://thechronicle.com.gh/ghana-accras-toxic-air-hits-poorer-families-hardest-widening-health-gap/ This story was a collaboration with New Narratives, with funding from the Clean Air Fund. The funder…
By JENNIFER AMBOLLEY Agbogbloshie, Accra – Every morning, long before the sun burns through Accra’s haze, Doris Tey opens her stall here among a street of traders. She sells plastic basins and buckets, stacking them high in neat, colourful towers that brighten the grey air around her. By noon, the market is alive with the…
By Jennifer Ambolley AGBOGBLOSHIE, Accra –Here in the notorious informal community on the edge of the capital city, Efua Mensah along with the rest of the market sellers, wakes up to a haze.The smoke from fires – cooking and waste burning – never leaves the 46-year-old cancer survivor. It curls over the wooden stalls and…
New Narratives kicked off phase two of our Clean Air Reporting Project in August. The project will continue its successful partnership with Joy News, one of the country’s leading news organizations. Joy reporter Michael Asharley will be Joy’s New Narratives air pollution/climate change beat reporter. Michael will also host the Joy/New Narratives weekly radio program…
New Narratives is proud to share that our reporter Albert Oppong-Ansah, editor with Ghana News Agency, has won the prestigious Eric and Wendy Schmidt Prize for Excellence in Science Journalism. Albert won the award for three stories that he did with New Narratives as part of our groundbreaking clean air reporting project with support from…
By Jennifer Ambolley Summary: By Jennifer Ambolley BALUNGO, Upper East Region –Asoke Douglas Aganawini rises with the sun each day in this remote community in the far northern part of the country. Climate change has pummeled farmers here with unpredictable rainfall and higher temperatures. But for Asoke it’s been particularly hard. The 45-year-old began losing…
Here in one of Africa’s biggest cities commuters have all the same needs as they do across the continent. But compared to other bustling cities, including Ghana’s capital, Accra, commuters here have a major advantage: modern public transport. …
The open burning of waste in residential areas affects many people in Ghana as it pollutes the air and limits air quality. This age-old habit remains rampant in many communities across the country….
Ebenezer Danso, a 19-year-old battling severe asthma, recently came perilously close to losing his life….
In the Ayawaso West Municipality, a concerning health trend has taken center stage. Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTI) continue to surge, claiming the top spot among the 15 leading causes of morbidity for the third consecutive year. In 2023 alone, the municipality recorded a staggering 25,700 cases of URTI, almost doubling the figures from 2021,…
The Ofankor-Pokuase-Nsawam highway has become a dust-choked battleground, leaving residents and workers grappling with air pollution….
The 6th Annual World Air Quality Report, meticulously compiled by IQAir, has shed light on the concerning state of global air quality in 2023….
