Uganda has taken a significant step towards confronting the growing health toll of pollution as the government and stakeholders develop the country’s first-ever Health and Pollution Action Plan (HPAP).
The plan, being developed by the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) in partnership with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and supported by the UK government, aims to reverse the trends of pollution-related diseases that are silently killing thousands of lives and costing billions of shillings in lost productivity.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution alone is responsible for an estimated 30,000 premature deaths in Uganda every year. The most prevalent and harmful air pollutant, PM2.5, penetrates the respiratory system and enters the bloodstream, contributing to higher incidence of asthma, stroke, heart disease, lung diseases, and cancer.
Speaking during the validation of the draft plan, GAHP country coordinator Emmanuel Tebandeke said, “We have invoked an action plan, which can be used as a roadmap to guide the implementation of the different interventions, so in this action plan, we have all the different interventions that have been proposed.”
Tebandeke added, “We are looking at investing resources in setting up biogas plant waste to Energy pilot projects to see how this can reduce on the volume of waste which can be generated in rural communities, get incentives in the form of micro loans to help communities transition from wood and charcoal to cleaner sources like biogas and solar to reduce on the impact of pollution.”
GAHP Executive Director Maria Paola Lia said that the HPAP is designed to move beyond problem identification by grounding decisions in data and economic analysis.
“We don’t want this to sit on a shelf. We want to be the start of something, the fight is not in our hands. We need to unite forces to make sure we can cause change,” Ms Paola said.
Principal Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at NEMA, Nickson Ahimbisibwe, stressed that the HPAP is a locally owned framework that complements the existing air quality and waste management regulations.
“People say that we have a number of documents, plans, strategies, but we don’t implement them. So with this one, we have started with it, we have developed it ourselves. Let us implement it,” Mr Ahimbisibwe said.
Dr Didacus Namanya, Climate and Health Focal Person, Ministry of Health, Uganda, said that the burden of pollution-related diseases is believed to be substantial; however, there are limited studies and surveys providing precise statistics.
“Exposure to both indoor and outdoor air pollution increases the disease burden and exacerbates existing health conditions. Priority should therefore be given to research to identify the most affected populations, promote mask use in hotspot areas, improve air quality, and raise awareness at all levels,” Dr Namanya said.