It’s logical to assume that Africa is the go-to continent if one wants to breathe clean air most of the time, given its small contribution of just 4% to global greenhouse-gas emissions. But pollution is more widespread on the continent than many assume, and is exerting a heavy human toll, with scores dying prematurely. And the tally is disproportionately higher than in other parts of the world – a fact many of us haven’t been unaware of all along.

A report on the issue that was released in October makes for very sad reading. In sub- Saharan Africa, as many of 155 out of every 100 000 people die of complications associated with air pollution, according to the report, the culmination of research commissioned by an American nongovernmental organisation (NGO) called the Health Effects Institute (HEI). This fatality rate is more than twice the global average of 85.6 deaths for every 100 000 people.

This stark finding echoes several other recent studies, including one published by the revered Lancet Planetary Health journal, according to which an estimated 1.1-million people on the continent died from inhaling heavily polluted air in 2019 – equivalent to about one-sixth of the global yearly tally of seven-million air- pollution-related deaths.

This makes air pollution Africa’s second- leading cause of premature death after malnutrition and ahead of unsafe water and sanitation, all of which are top-priority issues on the continent’s healthcare agenda. Come to think of it, despite its apparent low ranking, air pollution is a much bigger death risk factor than HIV/Aids, one of the biggest killers of modern times. Whereas air pollution killed 1.1-million Africans in 2019, the yearly average global HIV/Aids death toll is 650 000.

According to the HEI report, and another one published by British NGO the Clean Air Fund, killer air pollution in Africa is more pronounced in towns and cities than in the countryside. This is quite worrying, as African cities are growing at a rapid pace, with experts forecasting that about 66% of Africans will be city dwellers in the next 40 years and that half the world’s ten biggest cities will be on the continent by 2100.

Of course, the fact that the health impacts of air pollution in African are most pronounced in urban areas does not imply that those who live in the platteland should relax, as polluted air does not circulate within city boundaries only.

It’s worth noting that it’s not just the dark palls belched by industrial chimneys and the fumes from the tailpipes of vehicles that are responsible for what may be shaping up to be a major crisis. The paraffin and wood- and charcoal-burning stoves that are ubiquitous across many of our countries are to blame too. The Clean Cooking Alliance puts the number of sub-Saharans who depend on such fuels for cooking at 950-million, with an escalation to 1.67-billion expected by 2050.

Therefore, there is need for a fast transition to environment-friendly forms of energy for the majority of Africans, including for cooking purposes. Doing so will help prevent many deaths and at the very least slow down the pace of deforestation.

There will be a financial dividend, too, as air pollution is also hitting us in our pockets. Those who suffer from pollution-related illnesses need healthcare, and their frequent absences from work also cost companies and the economy generally money. As the experts tell us, slashing air pollution by about 20% would not only save the lives of as many as 125 000 between now and 2040 but also about $20-billion in pollution-associated economic costs.

One hopes there will a sense of greater urgency on this front in the new year and with regard to many other issues as well.