Margaret Awuni sits close to a heap of burning wood, her face masked by despair. Thick smoke curls around her as she coughs again and again as the wood burns down to charcoal that she then sells to workers here. Awuni, 48, has been doing this work since she lost her job as a trader…
By Mahmud Mohammed Nurudeen Every morning, Bukari Rahinatu used to ride through clouds of exhaust on her way to work in Ghana’s northeast town bordering Burkina Faso and Togo. The 25-year-old graduate from the University of Education, Winneba, says the smoke from fuel-powered motorbikes became part of daily life in the busy northern town. By…
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH Little Myles has been battling chronic asthma since he was two. Four years on, the boy lives with his single mother Bernice, here along the Pokuase-Nsawam highway. Long delayed road construction has shrouded the nearby communities for four years. That added to the area’s vehicle emissions and fumes from cooking and waste…
In Ghana, doctors are leading the fight against household air pollution, warning that smoke from charcoal and firewood stoves is putting millions of families at risk. With over 30% of households relying on charcoal and half still using firewood, children are the most vulnerable — facing respiratory infections, long‑term health problems, and even premature death….
By Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith Summary: ASALOKO, Upper East Region – Every Saturday morning, before the sun has climbed high enough to bake the red laterite earth here, Mary Asaah is already moving. She sweeps her compound here in this community of about 1,200 people, then works her way outward, combing the dirt paths for…
For 15 years, Abass Salifu toiled deep underground at illegal mining sites around Kumasi. The work paid well. He built two houses and provided comfortably for his wife and two children. But in 2025, everything changed. He began coughing uncontrollably. Soon, he was coughing blood. By January this year, Salifu had died. ‘I wish I…
By Caleb Ahinakwah with New Narratives Dorm Edem Prince Charles has a scratchy throat most evenings after work. Known amongst his fellow commercial bike riders as “Atentenben”, the Twi name for the flute that he loves to play, he coughs regularly while on the road. On long shifts in heavy traffic, Atentenben gets dizzy,…
By Clankson Acheampong MALLAM MARKET, Accra – By 7:30 a.m., Gladys Ahugah has already arranged her onions, ginger and garlic neatly on a wooden table under the scorching sun here at Accra’s biggest food market. Behind her, a pepper grinding mill roars to life. Dust rises. Vehicles crawl past on the busy Mallam-Kasoa road, releasing…
BY KINGSLEY E. HOPE KEJETIA MARKET, Kumasi — Akosua Frimpong arrives at this busy central market before dawn. By 6am, she has arranged her foodstuffs on the median strip — tomatoes, onions, yams, okra, garden eggs — hawking them to pedestrians and drivers passing by. By evening, she will have stood there 14 hours, breathing…
By JENNIFER AMBOLLEY with New Narratives POKUASE, Accra- Every evening, as the sun began to fade over her neighborhood, Grace Antwi would prepare dinner on her narrow porch. The charcoal stove sat low to the ground, thin grey smoke curling into the air. For years, this was how cooking was done — her seven-year-old daughter…
Margaret Awuni sits close to a heap of burning wood, her face masked by despair. Thick smoke curls around her as she coughs again and again as the wood burns down to charcoal that she then sells to workers here. Awuni, 48, has been doing this work since she lost her job as a trader…
By Albert Oppong-Ansah Not too long ago, every morning would have found Linda seated next to her friend Ruth Odom, at their small stalls at Accra’s Kantamanto market, in one of the largest secondhand clothing markets in the world. Before them would lie piles of clothes in different colours and sizes – polo shirts,…
By Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith Summary Adinboyi Abugre leads a small group of reporters and health workers down a dusty path to his home – past unfinished cement block structures, close-packed houses, and a wide stretch of earth where his family grows food during the rainy season. Inside, Abugre taps his wife on the shoulder….
For 15 years, Abass Salifu toiled deep underground at illegal mining sites around Kumasi. The work paid well. He built two houses and provided comfortably for his wife and two children. But in 2025, everything changed. He began coughing uncontrollably. Soon, he was coughing blood. By January this year, Salifu had died. “I wish I…
Every year, Ghanaians take millions of trips across the country in long distance buses. For most, it’s an affordable and convenient way to travel. But what many don’t know is that the air they’re breathing inside these buses could be making them sick. Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith reports in this social media Video. To read…
Ghana’s air pollution crisis is getting worse in ways many people don’t see. The growing theft of catalytic converters and other small engine parts isn’t just petty crime—it’s fueling a dangerous underground market with real public‑health consequences. When these components are removed, cars and motorbikes pump out toxic emissions far above legal limits, filling the…
By Jennifer Ambolley TEMA, Accra —Before dawn, Christabel Addo, would lift the shutters of her provision shop in Community 8. By 6 a.m., the narrow roadside was already choked with trotros belching dark smoke, taxis idling impatiently, and heavy-duty trucks grinding past on their way to the nearby industrial area. “Once the traffic starts, the air changes,” says the 46-year-old former Junior…
Dirty air is quietly damaging the hearts of millions of Ghanaians. When we think about air pollution, we often picture coughing, asthma, or smoggy skies. But what is far more dangerous and far less visible — is how polluted air is silently attacking the heart and blood vessels. Jennifer Ambolley reports in this social media…
Experts are warning that many vehicles in Ghana are operating without catalytic converters—an essential engine component that reduces harmful exhaust emissions—contributing significantly to air pollution and serious health risks. Without this device, vehicles release toxic gases directly into the atmosphere, worsening air quality and increasing cases of respiratory illnesses, especially among drivers, roadside traders, commuters,…
By Mahmud Mohammed-Nurudeen with New Narratives Every breath in Ghana’s cities now carries a silent threat. According to experts, thousands of vehicles are moving without catalytic converters — a small but essential device that filters dangerous gases before they reach the air we all breathe. Many drivers remove it for what they mistakenly believe will…
By Kingsley E. Hope The science is clear: every breath of polluted air is an assault on the human body. Tiny particles in dirty air are so minute that they pass deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. Doctors say these particles can damage the heart, raise the risk of stroke and diabetes, and…
