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 had never mined,’ he told this reporter in December, speaking in Twi. ‘It’s not worth giving your life. I’m not going to see my children grow up. If I had known this would happen, I would have chosen something else.

Prince Owusu Asiedu reports in this social media video. To read more about this story click this link: Breathing death: Health experts warn of looming crisis as toxic air in illegal mining kills and sickens miners – Adomonline.com

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives, with funding from the Clean Air Fund. The donor had no say in the story’s content.