Urban air pollution in Sub-Saharan Africa: Time for action

•Air quality in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) cities has deteriorated owing to rapid population growth and industrial expansion.•Some of the highest fine particles levels in the world have been recorded in SSA cities.•The World Health Assembly resolution on air pollution and health, and the SDGs are a welcome boost for urban air pollution control efforts in SSA.•Within these policy frameworks, measures for addressing urban air pollution and associated health impacts in SSA have been outlined.

Air quality in cities of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries has deteriorated with the situation driven by rapid population growth and its attendant increased vehicle ownership, increased use of solid fuels for cooking and heating, and poor waste management practices. Industrial expansion in these cities is also a major contributor to the worsening air pollution. Exposure to ambient air pollution is a major threat to human health in SSA with 176,000 deaths and 626,000 DALYs in the region attributable to ambient air pollution exposure. These estimates are however likely to be much higher than reported due to the limited data emanating from the region. Recently, the adoption of the World Health Assembly resolution on air pollution and health, and Sustainable Development Goals are a welcome boost for urban air pollution control efforts in SSA. In this article, we have outlined within the broad framework of these international policy instruments, measures for addressing urban air pollution and its associated health impacts in SSA sustainably.