A new study has revealed that household air pollution is a leading cause behind the steep increase in deaths from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in Ghana over the past three decades.
The research, published in Frontiers in Medicine by Emmanuel Mensah, Min Liu, Lingling Pan, Wei Lu, Susheng Zhou, Liqin Zhang, Yusheng Cheng, Shuoshuo Wei, and Lei Yusheng Zha, concludes that “Ghana’s absolute COPD burden is increasing, driven by preventable risk factors such as household air pollution.”
Between 1990 and 2021, COPD deaths in Ghana rose by 157%, from 693 to 1,782, while global deaths increased by just 49% over the same period. The study also found that Ghana’s age-standardised death rate (ASDR) declined by only 7%, compared to a 37% global reduction.
COPD prevalence in Ghana tripled from 0.1 million to 0.3 million, with incidence rising by 215% and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) increasing by 171%.
The researchers identified household air pollution from solid fuel use—such as charcoal, wood, and dung—as the single biggest contributor, accounting for 40% of COPD deaths, followed by ambient air pollution (25%).
Globally, the pattern differs, with particulate matter pollution responsible for 41% of COPD deaths, ahead of smoking (36%).
The study further warns that COPD prevalence will continue to rise among adults aged 40 to 64, with mortality rates climbing sharply from age 60, especially among men.
Children and the Elderly Most Affected
The State of Global Air 2025 report reinforces these findings, revealing that 4,541 deaths among children under 10 in Ghana were linked to household air pollution, primarily from cooking with solid fuels. Another 12,790 deaths occurred among adults aged 50 to 85.
Overall, deaths attributable to household air pollution (HAP) from solid fuels slightly declined—from 23,400 in 2022 to 23,100 in 2023. Yet, Ghana remains among the countries most affected, as 90% of global HAP deaths occur in low- and middle-income nations where reliance on solid fuels remains widespread.
Globally, HAP caused 2.76 million deaths in 2023, down from 2.9 million the previous year.
Call for Cleaner Solutions
The researchers recommend that Ghana adopt clean cooking initiatives, such as expanding clean cookstove programmes and strengthening air quality monitoring systems, to identify high-risk communities and reduce the COPD burden.
They argue that targeted interventions to cut solid fuel use could significantly improve public health outcomes and help reverse decades of preventable respiratory illness and premature death.
