
12/09/2025
The Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC), in collaboration with Columbia University and with funding from Clean Air Fund, is carrying out a three-year study to assess how air pollution affects the health of young children. Launched in 2023, the study titled ‘Early Life Air Pollution Exposures and Non-Communicable Disease Risk in Ghana,’ aims to examine whether exposure to polluted air early in life increases the risk of long-term illnesses such as asthma and heart problems.
To implement this study, KHRC has deployed 40 air quality sensors across Kintampo to collect data. The findings will help inform stronger policies to control air pollution in Ghana.
In line with this, the Ghana Country Lead for Clean Air Fund, Mr. Desmond Appiah and Mr. Dakuu Gordon, Analyst at the Clean Air Fund, visited KHRC earlier this week, to assess the study’s progress and provide technical support. During the visit, they inspected the high-level continuous Air Quality Monitor installed at KHRC’s new Environmental Science Laboratory, discussed the annual progress report and data management processes. They interacted with community members and inspected the 40 air quality monitors installed in the communities since 2024.
Mr. Desmond Appiah commended the Centre’s leadership in air quality research. He noted that this is one of Clean Air Fund’s few long-term funded studies and emphasized the importance of sustaining it to better understand the health effects of air pollution, especially on women and children.
Director of KHRC, Prof. Kwaku Poku Asante, expressed gratitude to the leadership of Clean Air Fund for their continued support and confidence in the Centre’s work. He noted that as a research Centre under the Ghana Health Service, KHRC has built a strong track record in air quality research over the last 15 years and continues to provide evidence that informs national health policies. He reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to producing high-quality research that advances the mission of the Ghana Health Service to protect and improve public health.
Learn more: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/caf-visit-khrc.html