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T1 Air Pollution and Development in Africa: Impacts on Health, the Economy and Human Capital
A1 United Nations Environment Programme, 
A2 Fisher, Samantha
A2 Bellinger, David
A2 Cropper, Maureen
A2 Kumar, Pushpam
A2 Binagwaho, Agnes
A2 Biao Koudenoukpo, Juliette
A2 Park, Yongjoon
A2 Taghian, Gabriella
A2 Landrigan, Philip
K1 air pollution
K1 economic development
K1 Africa
K1 health
K1 disease
K1 death
K1 mortality
K1 morbidity
K1 child
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/36717
UL https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/36717
NO This report examines the impacts of air pollution on health, the economy, and human capital across Africa, with focused analysis on Ethiopia, Ghana, and Rwanda during a period of significant environmental and epidemiological transition on the continent. Drawing on 2019 morbidity and mortality data from the Global Burden of Disease study and air pollution concentration data from the World Health Organization, the authors quantified disease burden, estimated economic output losses from pollution-related illness and premature death, and calculated cognitive function losses in children attributable to fine particulate matter exposure. The study found that air pollution was responsible for approximately 1.1 million deaths across Africa in 2019, making it the second leading cause of death after AIDS, with household air pollution accounting for the majority of fatalities while ambient outdoor pollution is rising in tandem with urbanization and industrialization. Combined economic losses from pollution-related morbidity and mortality reached 1.16 percent of gross domestic product in Ethiopia, 0.95 percent in Ghana, and 1.19 percent in Rwanda. Additionally, ambient fine particulate matter exposure was associated with an estimated 1.96 billion lost cognitive performance points among African children in 2019, with implications for long-term human capital formation and national development trajectories.
DS UN Environment Document Repository
RD Sep 17, 2026