A Scoping Review on Air Quality Monitoring, Policy and Health in West African Cities

Celia Mir Alvarez, Renaud Hourcade, Bertrand Lefebvre and Eva Pilot
Additional contact information
Celia Mir Alvarez: Department of Health, Ethics and Society, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
Renaud Hourcade: University Rennes, EHESP, CNRS, ARENES–UMR 6051, F-35000 Rennes, France
Bertrand Lefebvre: University Rennes, EHESP, CNRS, ARENES–UMR 6051, F-35000 Rennes, France
Eva Pilot: Department of Health, Ethics and Society, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 23, 1-26

Abstract: Ambient air pollution is a global health threat that causes severe mortality and morbidity from respiratory, cardiovascular, and other diseases. Its impact is especially concerning in cities; as the urban population increases, especially in low- and middle-income countries, large populations risk suffering from these health effects. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) comprises 15 West African countries, in which many cities are currently experiencing fast growth and industrialization. However, government-led initiatives in air quality monitoring are scarce in ECOWAS countries, which makes it difficult to effectively control and regulate air quality and subsequent health issues. A scoping study was performed following the Arksey and O’Malley methodological framework in order to assess the precise status of air quality monitoring, related policy, and legislation in this region. Scientific databases and gray literature searches were conducted, and the results were contrasted through expert consultations. It was found that only two ECOWAS countries monitor air quality, and most countries have insufficient legislation in place. Public health surveillance data in relation to air quality data is largely unavailable. In order to address this, improved air quality surveillance, stricter and better-enforced regulations, regional cooperation, and further research are strongly suggested for ECOWAS.

Keywords: urban air pollution; West Africa; ECOWAS; public health; air quality monitoring; air quality standards (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/9151/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/9151/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:23:p:9151-:d:458301

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().