Building a Safer and Greener Africa’s Future: African Strategy and Action Plan for Environmentally Sound Management of Chemicals and Wastes 2025 - 2035

The African Strategy for the Environmentally Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste (2025–2035) presents a coordinated continental response to the challenges of rapidly growing hazardous chemical and waste streams driven by industrialization, urbanization and global market flows that threaten human health and ecosystem integrity. Developed under the leadership of the African Union Commission, in collaboration with UNEP, AMCEN, the strategy unites national priorities, regional capabilities, and international commitments under one visionary framework. Rising industrialisation, population growth, increasing complexity of waste generated, imports of hazardous materials and lack of institutional and infrastructural capacity have made chemical and waste management a critical issue for African countries. Besides addressing the major pollution challenges and the associated health impacts, the strategy for the Environmental Sound Management of chemicals and waste could lead to multiple economic and social benefits through job creation and livelihood provision. The purpose of the Pan-African Strategy is to provide a unified continental framework for addressing the life cycle of chemicals and waste, from production and use to disposal and recovery.