The Lagos State Government has identified four major contributions of environmental pollution in the state.
Permanent Secretary, Environmental Services, Mrs Belinda Odeneye, identified these at a webinar in commemoration of the year 2021 International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies.
She also spoke on the various initiatives in pursuit of clean air in the state.
Odeneye cited a World Bank study which estimated that environmental air pollution led to loss of $2.1bn and 11,200 premature deaths in 2018.
She said, “It is no longer news that Lagos, Africa’s fastest-growing Mega City, is confronted with myriads of environmental challenges with air pollution remaining a critical one.
“Lagos as a hub of industrial activities is not spared from the contribution of the transport sector to air pollution. Industrial processes such as iron smelting and the use of fossil fuel-powered machinery and generators for electricity, contribute an unknown amount to air pollution in Nigeria.
“The contribution of the waste management sector through open incineration of waste can also not be overlooked.”
Odeneye listed the Bus Rapid Transport System, tree planting and greening of open spaces, improvement in the management of dumpsites across the state as part of measures being taken by the government to ensure that everyone could breathe clean air irrespective of their status or location in the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, said there was a need to recognise the interdependencies between human and environmental health.
Abayomi said, “It is important to take care of our environment so that we can spend less on our health system.
“As a result, the goal of the Lagos State Health System is to note the role that social and economic determinants of health, such as education, income, public health, infrastructure among others play in managing the resources required to maintain the health system.
“Lagos is a vulnerable lowly megacity that has suffered a lot of environmental degradation, from climate change, human footprint to deforestation, to waste management crisis.
“The main concerns in the air are PM less than 2.5 and ground ozone. This causes increased airway inflammation and affects all of our systems.
“There is connectivity between man-animals-plants and their shared environment. Therefore, we must protect our environment and prevent disasters and ill health by avoiding constant and long term exposure to polluted air.”
The General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, Dr Dolapo Fasawe, stated that Lagos state had established six air quality monitoring stations, data gathering on air pollution to establish causes and sources of pollutions and the development of Lagos State Clean Air Action Plan 2021-2025.