HEALTH and POLLUTION ACTION PLAN Republic of Ghana May, 2019
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HEALTH AND POLLUTION ACTION PLAN Republic of Ghana May, 2019 DISCLAIMER The designations employed and the presentation of material in this project publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the EU, the UNIDO or the USAID Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Designations such as “developed,” “industrialized” and “developing” are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgment about the state reached by a particular country or area in the development process. The mention of firm names or commercial products does not imply endorsement by EU, UNIDO and USAID. Material in this project publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, but acknowledgement is requested, together with a copy of the publication containing the quotation or reprint. © United Nations Industrial Development Organization, 2019 This publication has been funded by the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development. HEALTH AND POLLUTION ACTION PLAN Republic of Ghana May, 2019 A project implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in partnership with the World Health Organization and in collaboration with the Inter-ministerial Technical Working Group of the Republic of Ghana Supported as part of the EU-funded global project entitled Mitigating Toxic Health Exposures in Low- and Middle-Income Countries II FOREWORD Ghana is on the verge of economic transformation. The country’s economy is projected to grow at a rate of 7.3% in 2019, an improvement over the 2018 growth rate of 6.3%. In 2017, the economy accelerated to an 8.5% growth rate making it the second- fastest growing African economy. Between 2010 and 2018, Ghana’s population increased from 24.7 million to an estimated 30 million. The 51% urban population is estimated to grow even faster because of the increasing rural-to-urban drift. The anticipated increase in industrial and economic activities coupled with increasing population, urbanization and consumption is projected to invariably result in an increase in the volumes and complexity of pollutants to which the Ghanaian population may be exposed. III Today, most of our water bodies have been polluted by mining and other industrial activities as well as by leachate from poor municipal solid and liquid waste management. Air pollution is on the ascendency and the WHO estimates that indoor and outdoor pollution accounts for nearly 28,000 deaths in Ghana annually. In order to catalyse rural development, create jobs and transform our rural economies, the government as part of its medium to long term plan is embarking on an industrialization agenda titled: One District, One Factory. This programme will be expected to raise the average growth rate of the manufacturing sector to at least 6% per annum. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which constitute over 90% of our industrial sector, will be expected to multiply and diversify. The anticipated industrial expansion coupled with the increasing challenges associated with our municipal waste management systems call for strategic and innovative approaches for addressing pollution in order to avoid its human health impacts. This Health and Pollution Action Plan (HPAP) provides detailed information on the most critical sources of Ghana‘s pollution challenges as well as the actions and the recommendations for mitigating their human health impacts. It provides a framework for Government, other national stakeholders, and development partners who have mandates and interest in assisting Ghana to address pollution, within which to pursue together a structured approach, following the path of our national efforts to address the menace. It will enable us maximize the use of resources, do away with duplication of efforts, and enhance our ability to monitor and evaluate progress towards avoiding, reducing and mitigating the impact of pollution on our health. This invariably will boost the health of our human resources and enhance our efforts to build an economically productive and ecologically sustainable society. Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Republic of Ghana IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Health and Pollution Action Plan (HPAP) is the result of months of consultations and technical engagements with various ministries, government departments and agencies, development partners and Civil Society Organizations in addressing environmental risks related to health, all under the leadership of the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation. Of crucial importance has been the support received from the Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana Health Service, the Soil Research and Water Research Institutes of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the World Health Organization’s Ghana office, the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, the Kumasi Composting and Recycling Plant, and the Building and Road Research Institute. The government of the Republic of Ghana is grateful to the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development for providing financial support which made this work possible and to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization for facilitating the process and technical inputs. Further appreciation is extended to Pure Earth, which brought to bear its previous experience with contaminated sites, and the Ghana National Cleaner Production Centre for their technical contributions. Our appreciation is also to the NDPC for their role in validating the document. Finally, we are grateful to all the representatives from the government, development organizations, non-government organizations, and academic institutions who participated in the HPAP workshops and meetings, and who assisted in the review and editing of this document. They are listed in Annex 1. We thank you all! V TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword II Acknowledgements III List of Tables VII List of Figures VII Abbreviations VIII Executive summary 1 Introduction 6 Pollution and Health 6 International and regional normative context 7 Health and environment framework in Ghana 11 National Planning Systems 25 HPAP Process in Ghana: Activities and Timeline 27 Summary of health impacts from major pollution challenges 31 Pollution impacts data from IHME 2016 GBD study 31 Pollution impacts provided from available National and Regional data 36 Economic costs of pollution in Ghana 39 Summary of priority pollution challenges and health impacts 41 Issues not selected as priorities for action in the HPAP 42 Priority Issue 1: Pollution from municipal solid waste 49 Sources and characteristics 49 Roles and responsibilities in addressing municipal solid waste 51 Actions taken to date to address municipal solid waste 52 VI TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT.) Additional proposed actions on municipal solid waste 54 management during project consultations Project proposals 54 Priority Issue 2: Pollution from manufacturing activities 55 Sources and characteristics 55 Roles and responsibilities in addressing pollution from 56 manufacturing activities Actions taken to date to address Pollution from Manufacturing 57 Activities Additional proposed actions on pollution from manufacturing 57 during project consultations Project proposal 58 Priority Issue 3: Pollution from contaminated sites 58 Sources and characteristics 58 Burden of disease from pollution at contaminated sites 58 Roles and responsibilities in addressing pollution at contaminated 59 sites Actions taken to date to address pollution at contaminated sites 60 Additional proposed actions for pollution at contaminated sites 61 during project consultations Project proposal 61 5. Possible support from GAHP members and development 62 partners. 6. Project proposals Sustainable Waste Management Pilot in Kumasi 63 Resource efficient cleaner production in the Chemu catchment area 75 National Contaminated Site Identification and Assessment Project 89 Annex 1: Lists of contacts and participants 102 Annex 2: About the global alliance on health and pollution 106 Annex 3: Available national data 108 Annex 4: Global Burden of Disease Data 109 Annex 5: Additional proposed actions during project consultations 111 VII LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES List of Tables List of Figures Figure 1. Percentage of all 7 deaths in 2015 that were Table 1. Summary of annual 35 caused by pollution deaths from Pollution in Figure 2. Percentage of 32 Ghana annual deaths attributable Table 2: National Data 50 to communicable and non- on Diseases Caused by communicable diseases Unsanitary Conditions Figure 3. Percentage of total 33 Table 3: National Data on 59 annual DALYs attributable Occupational poisoning and to communicable and non- Cancers communicable diseases Figure 3. Percentage of all 33 annual deaths in Ghana caused by leading risk factors Figure 5: Percentage of 34 annual deaths attributable to pollutionnvs. HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis (combined) Figure 6. Types of Sites 36 Assessed Figure 7. Key Pollutants 37 identified Figure 8: Four-year data on 51 respiratory disease, poisoning and occupational injuries VIII ABBREVIATIONS ADB Asian Development Bank AGI Association of Ghana Industries AMA Accra Metropolitan Assembly AQMP Air Quality Management Plan ASGM Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining ASM Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining BAT/BEP Best Available Technologies and Best Environmental Practice BOD Biochemical