He said:  "Our healthcare system may be heading for a crisis if we do not act immediately on the increasing levels of air pollution in Ghana's urban areas."

"The fight against air pollution cannot be deferred to tomorrow", he said.

Mr Chasant said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after a campaign organised by the AirMask and Textiles Company (ATCL) to create awareness on the effects of air pollution in the Greater Accra Region.

The campaign forms part of activities to mark the World Environment Day 2019, on the theme: "Beat Air Pollution".

Mr Chasant, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of ATCL, led a team of environmental activists to distribute anti-pollution masks, also known as particulate respirators, free of charge to street hawkers in various parts of Accra.

Mr Chasant had also distributed the anti-pollution masks to school children at Jamestown in Accra, and some workers of the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in Tema.

At the Christ the King Preparatory School, a private school near the Jamestown Lighthouse in Accra, Mr Chasant urged the children to minimise their exposure to air pollutants emanating from the Abbatoir.

He observed that the use of scrap tyres to singe livestock at the nearby Jamestown Abattoir generated toxic smoke, which polluted the air, posing a serious health risk to residents of the area, including the school children.

He expressed regret that although his company had advised operators of the Abattoir to stop using scrap tyres as a source of fuel for singeing slaughtered animals, due to the health hazards it posed, the situation had persisted.

Mr Chasant, therefore, called on the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to enforce the laws on sanitation and environment to protect the health of the people.

Distributing some masks to workers of the OMCs inside the Global Haulage Complex at Tema, opposite the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Mr Chasant called on the Environmental Protection Agency to come to the aid of the workers who had suffered from hazardous pollution from a nearby iron and steel factory.

"The toxic pollution from the iron rods and steel facility adjacent the offices of the OMCs and TOR, is some of the worst I have seen in the Greater Accra Region."

Despite repeated complaints about the poor air quality in the area by the businesses, nothing had been done to salvage the situation, Mr Chasant said.

He explained that the distribution of free particulate respirators by ATCL was in response to the call by the workers for something to be done about the poor air quality in the area, caused mainly by the iron rods and steel factory.

He called for rigourous measures to address air pollution in Ghana generally, as well as publication of air quality data by the EPA.

"These measures, among others, will go a long way to tackle poor air quality in the country," Mr Chasant said.

"Air quality data and air pollution exposure information in Ghana are woefully scanty. Air quality monitoring in Ghana is limited to only the Greater Accra Region. Data from these air quality monitors, unfortunately, are not publicly accessible."

"This is not helping the fight against air pollution in Ghana, as we cannot discuss air pollution without data."

 "We need to look at what countries around the world are doing to tackle air pollution. There are enough examples to show that state interventions have helped to reduce air pollution exposure levels in many cities around the world."

"Open air quality data, restricting or banning the most polluting cars from city centres and car-free zones, enforcement of the ban on open burning of residential trash, efficient transport systems, and other measures are helping to minimize air pollution in cities around the world."

Mr Chasant called for the urgent adoption of similar measures to enable the country to have some relief in the near future.