SEI’s Kevin Hicks and Katy Brooke reflect on the recent African Clean Air Programme (ACAP) Roadmap meeting in Accra, sharing key insights, outcomes and what comes next in the drive to improve air quality and support sustainable development across Africa.
From evidence to action – this was the spirit that defined the Africa Clean Air Program (ACAP) Roadmap Design and Development Meeting, held in Accra, Ghana, in May 2025. ACAP is an initiative led by the African Union Commission (AUC), in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and SEI, to tackle air pollution, climate change and sustainable development in Africa.
African countries have made progress in addressing air pollution; however, they continue to face significant challenges in managing air quality. These challenges include inadequate monitoring, insufficient data on ambient air concentrations, weak legislative frameworks, and low public awareness and engagement on air quality issues. Additionally, funding for air quality management (AQM) is often limited. The lack of air quality data is particularly severe, with only one PM2.5 monitor serving 28 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa, compared to one per 370 000 people in high-income countries, as reported by the WHO Global Ambient Air Quality Database (2018).
Recognizing the links between air pollution and climate change, ACAP promotes an integrated approach, as outlined in the 2022 Integrated Assessment of Air Pollution and Climate Change for Sustainable Development in Africa. This assessment recommended 37 mitigation measures across five sectors: transport, residential, energy, agriculture and waste.
Hosted in Ghana – a champion country for ACAP – the meeting brought together ministers, technical experts, civil society representatives, regional economic communities (RECs) and international partners. This diverse gathering not only reviewed progress toward an ACAP Roadmap but also laid the groundwork for regional and national action plans aimed at achieving clean air in Africa.
Group photo with institutional representatives, speakers and participants.
Photo: Crown Noah.
As ACAP serves as a crucial platform for regional collaboration in addressing the interconnected challenges of air pollution, climate change, and sustainable development in Africa, the roadmap functions as both a sub-regional and continental implementation plan for achieving ACAP’s objectives. The roadmap builds on the Integrated Assessment, which was endorsed at the Eighteenth Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in 2022. ACMEN urged African countries to support the further development and implementation of the 37 recommended measures as a continent-wide ACAP, coordinated through strong, country-led initiatives cascaded to the RECs and higher levels of policy.
In 2023, the AU Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment (ARDWE), during its Fifth Ordinary Session, reinforced the AUC’s mandate to lead the establishment of ACAP and foster collaboration among relevant partners. The creation of ACAP was also acknowledged by the Sixth Session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) in its Resolution on Promoting Regional Cooperation on Air Pollution, which aims to enhance global air quality.
Kevin Hicks, SEI (University of York), the project lead and technical partner for ACAP, stated:
“We understand that there are existing city, national and regional air quality initiatives in Africa. By mapping these initiatives and integrating them into the ACAP implementation plans, we can better organize ourselves to advance the ACAP roadmap.”
This sentiment echoed throughout the meeting as participants engaged in discussions and breakout sessions to refine the roadmap’s strategic pillars, ranging from air quality monitoring to cross-sectoral policy integration and regional coordination.
The meeting was opened by Martina Otto, Head of Secretariat at the CCAC, who commended Ghana’s leadership and emphasized the power of clean air to drive economic and social prosperity. Her remarks underscored that air pollution is not just an environmental issue – it is a development opportunity.
Hon. Ibrahim Mohammed Murtala, Ghana’s Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, reinforced this message with clarity and urgency. “We are not here to deliberate – we are here to act,” he said, highlighting Ghana’s progress through improved cookstoves, city-wide sensor deployments and renewable energy initiatives. His call for collective action resonated with the meeting’s objective: shared responsibility for action, grounded at the local level and sustained by regional support.
Hon. Ibrahim Mohammed Murtala declaring the meeting open.
Photo: Crown Noah.
SEI’s scientific and technical contributions – in collaboration with more than 100 African experts – formed the backbone of the Integrated Assessment that underpins the ACAP Roadmap. The Accra meeting marked the next step: moving from recommendations to operational plans.
Throughout the meeting, participants explored ACAP’s five strategic pillars through in-depth discussions. A key focus was ensuring the Roadmap aligns with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Agenda 2063. Discussions included evaluating country-level air quality monitoring and management capacities, as well as exchanging best practices from successful initiatives in agriculture, waste management, household energy, transportation, and industry.
Participants also examined how to strategically engage with regional economic communities (RECs) – including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the East African Community (EAC) – to ensure ACAP aligns with sub-regional frameworks.
The meeting also highlighted the leadership of Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Madagascar and South Africa, which are piloting innovations as champion countries and acting as regional centres of excellence.
Participants reviewed regional and continental air pollution difficulties, as well as air quality management issues. Some countries have challenges in compiling pollutant inventories, forecasting air quality, and completing health effect evaluations. Despite these problems, there is a consensus that solutions exist and must be translated into practical initiatives with specific milestones and timelines.
In the coming months, SEI will continue to collaborate with CCAC, UNEP, the AUC, and other partners to support the development of the Roadmap and its implementation plan, as well as to prepare for the launch of the first Centres of Excellence in 2026.
Looking ahead, the focus is on finalizing the ACAP Roadmap and work plan and securing its adoption at the ministerial level – a milestone that would represent a major step forward for regional policy alignment and action on air pollution and climate change in Africa.
To learn more about SEI’s work on air quality and sustainable development in Africa, visit SEI’s Clean Air Program.
Project / The project supports the development of an Africa Clean Air Program continental roadmap and implementation plans.
Project / A scientifically robust and policy-relevant framework to identify and assess priority measures that maximize the multiple-benefits for air quality and climate.
Project / SEI researchers and partners will create three assessments on economics, agriculture and food systems, and nitrous oxide to aid decision-making on SLCPs.
Feature / Scientists developed an integrated assessment of air pollution and climate change providing a robust scientific basis for action towards clean air in Africa.
Feature / The Climate & Clean Air Coalition and SEI are developing an assessment of air pollution and climate change in Africa to reduce emissions and maximize benefits.
Perspective / This op-ed offers key insights into 2024 UNEA-6 resolution on air quality with contributions from SEI researchers, originally published in the Clean Air Journal
