The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency has said that the state lost a total of 22,500 children to air pollution in 2021, a figure which according to it, was 75 per cent of the 30,000 people who died the previous year in the state.
The General Manager, LASEPA, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, made this known on the sidelines of the official kick-off ceremony for the “EKO Clean Air” project which took place on Saturday with the theme: “Breathe Clean Air Now”.
According to Fasawe, the figures were derived from a report which recorded the impact of air pollution on the health of residents. She said that the administration of governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had been very deliberate and proactive in its resolve to deliver clean air and a sustainable environment to Lagos residents.
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She explained that upon resumption, the governor made health and the environment a top priority of his administration as there can be no good health without a good environment.
“Eko for Clean Air is preaching prosperity, good health, increased GDP and increased productivity for the people of Lagos State,” Fasawe was quoted as saying during the ceremony.
She noted that the agency undertook an Air Quality Study before the intervention and also did the K-A-P: Knowledge, Attitude and Practices where it realised that a lot of people did not know the effects of air pollution on health.
“That informed our decision to visit the Itedo community,” she said. “Our coming here is to reach clean energy and recycling and we can see that the people are excited and are committed to partnering with the government on the project,”.
Story was adapted from Punch.
