Uganda has been ranked the 10th country among the 10 most polluted countries in Africa, putting its population of 45,853,778 people at risk of contracting diseases caused by breathing contaminated air.
According to the World Air Quality Report released by IQAir, Ugandans risk contracting asthma, cancer, stroke and lung disease as among other numerous exacerbated health conditions that also extend to other African countries in the same category.
The report reveals that exposure to PM2.5 (micrograms per cubic metre) of air pollution is what leads to and exacerbates but not limits to such numerous health conditions.
The IQAir Report puts Uganda’s pollution rate at 27.3 in Africa earning a global ranking position of 28.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is responsible for an estimated seven million premature deaths worldwide every year and causes an estimated one in every nine deaths worldwide.
“For a long time, air pollution has been the greatest threat to human health. Breathing is essential for human survival, but inhaling polluted air can be detrimental to one’s well-being.”
In 2023, 10 out of the reporting 134 countries and regions succeeded in achieving the WHO annual PM2.5 guideline value of 5 μg/m3 although much more work remains to be done to combat air pollution, according to WHO.
Burkina Faso takes the first position in air pollution in Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo is third while Rwanda is fourth in the rankings.
However, Chad and Sudan are notably absent in 2023 due to a lack of publicly available monitoring data.
In 2024, Cairo of Egypt has been ranked the first most polluted city in Africa while Nairobi city of Kenya and Addis Ababa of Ethiopia is fourth and fifth respectively.
The Pollution Index and Pollution Exp Scale in these cities consider factors such as air and water pollution, garbage disposal, cleanliness, noise and light pollution, green spaces and comfort in relation to pollution.
