Recently, there has been a growing emphasis on the collective advantages of addressing air pollution, climate change and human health concerns concurrently. SEI and partners’ recent study, Integrated Assessment of Air Pollution and Climate Change for Sustainable Development in Africa, shows that enhancing air quality in Africa not only offers substantial health advantages but also aids in the fight against desertification, ultimately bolstering food security.

The Africa clean air program brief on Combating Air Pollution to Control Desertification and Improve Food Security in Africa draws attention to key benefits of addressing air pollution and the benefit to human health, climate and crop production:

• Precipitation and temperature benefits;
• Human health in Africa;
• Land degradation, drought, and desertification; and
• Crop yields.

The brief also explores how these measures can, in the long term, enable African countries to achieve the development goals of the Africa Union Agenda 2063 – The Africa We Want.

The brief was produced by the coordinating committee of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and the Advancing the development of an Africa Clean Air Program project. SEI Senior Research Fellow Kevin Hicks served as the program coordinator and reviewer for the Africa Clean Air Program brief, which gives recommendations on how reducing air pollution can benefit human health, climate and crop production in Africa.