Browsing: respiratory disease Ghana

Air pollution now kills more Ghanaians annually than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and road traffic accidents combined. In 2023, approximately 32,500 Ghanaians died from air pollution-related diseases, with 12,790 deaths recorded among persons aged 50 to 85. From 2014 to 2023, adults over age 65 in Ghana experienced 5.7 times more heatwave days than the equivalent demographic from 1986 to 2005. Long-term exposure to PM2.5 increases dementia risk by 40%. COPD prevalence in Ghana has tripled, rising from 0.1 million to 0.3 million cases. This investigative feature follows the lives of older Ghanaians whose health is being silently eroded by air pollution, extreme heat, and environmental degradation. It analyses the epidemiological data, documents the harmattan health crisis, and examines the policy failures that leave older persons unprotected. As the UN drafts a new treaty on the rights of older persons, this investigation reveals what is at stake for Ghana’s elderly population.