…Experts call for urgent policy action,sustained public awareness campaigns
By Joy Joseph
An environmental health expert and don at the Faculty of Public Health, University of Ibadan [UI],Professor Godson Ana,has sounded the alarm over the devastating health implications of air pollution, revealing that air pollution kills approximately 712,000 people annually in Africa.
Ana, a former Dean of the Faculty of Public Health, raised the alarm during the World Environmental Health Day 2025 organised by the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and anchored by the Environmental Health Students’ Association, University of Ibadan with the theme: “Clean Air, Healthy People”.
The programme was held at B.O. Osuntokun Auditorium , College of Medicine of the institution. The event blended awareness campaigns, expert discussions, awards, and rich cultural displays, underscored the critical link between air quality and human health, particularly for children, whose vulnerability to pollution-related diseases continues to draw concern from environmental health professionals.
Prof. Ana, in a keynote address, described clean air as “the most vital requirement for human survival,” even more essential than food, water, or shelter.
“Try closing your nostrils and mouth, you’ll gasp for air in minutes. We can survive weeks without water or food, but just seven minutes without air.it is rare to survive without air between five and seven minutes. This is why air quality must be treated as an urgent public health priority,” the professor told the audience. Ana, who is an air quality expert, explained that air pollution, caused by physical, chemical, or biological contaminants exceeding safe levels, harms not only human health but also ecosystems and infrastructure. Common sources include industrial emissions, bush burning, cooking with firewood, dust storms, and wildfires. Africa, he noted, suffers disproportionately.
“Air pollution kills approximately 712,000 people annually in Africa, more than deaths from malnutrition, unsafe water, and other environmental hazards combined,” Prof. Ana revealed.
Particularly at risk, he stressed, are children, whose developing organs make them more susceptible to pollutants.
“They face a heightened risk of asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and even early-onset chronic diseases,” he said, urging children to speak up and take action whenever they notice environmental hazards in their homes, schools, or communities.
In his remark, the Director of the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre, Professor Percy Onianwa, lamented the devastating health implications of air pollution.
Also speaking, Prof. Mayowa Owolabi, a former Dean of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, University of Ibadan, linked rising cases of cardiovascular diseases in Nigeria to worsening air pollution levels. Owolabi called for the adoption of global best practices in air quality monitoring, citing examples from China and Ghana.
Organisers called on government, civil society, educators, and parents to continue working together to ensure that every Nigerian child breathes clean air and grows in a safe, sustainable environment, stressing the need for behavioural change, modification of practices and policy implementation to improve air quality.
Also, children participated in innovative programmes under the Environmental Sustainability Training (TEST) initiative, which focused on Leadership, Safety, Environment, and Health (LSEH), empowering young minds to lead change in their communities. The event featured secondary school students, who showcased environmental checklist analyses, health education projects, and creative presentations highlighting the importance of clean air. Their efforts were recognised with certificates, plaques, and trophies for outstanding performance in environmental monitoring and sustainability education.Other side attractions were a variety of presentations viz poem, drama and cultural display to depict the theme of the event. The climax of the event was the award of prizes to deserving schools.The International School, Ibadan(ISI) won the trophy for the maiden competition instituted for the most environmentally sound and hygiene-conscious school.
The trophy was initiated by the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and donated by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Child Health Environment and Safety Trust (CHEST) to promote Environmental monitoring and surveillance in schools.
Participants left the event inspired to champion cleaner air, stronger inter-agency collaboration, and bolder environmental health policies.
