Africa is home to the world’s youngest population and the world’s fastest growing cities. City planners and policy makers across the continent are addressing the challenges that these demographic trends pose to the creation of an environment in which young people can thrive. As the policy brief, From Pollution to Solution in Six African Cities shows, the challenges that flow from rapid urbanisation across the continent are immense, including drastic increases in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, which if unchecked will bring disastrous consequences for human and economic health. On the current trajectory, following a ‘business as usual’ approach means air pollution will collectively cost Accra, Cairo, Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi and Yaoundé an estimated $138bn in premature deaths and worker absenteeism over the next two decades.
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