By Saidu Jalloh, Reporter D.S
FREETOWN, 21 April 2026 The Freetown City Council (FCC) has unveiled a new community-focused approach to address worsening air quality, following a multi-stakeholder workshop held on 20 April with partners from civil society and government.
The session, convened with the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) and the Health and Environment Sustainable Development Union (HENDDU), served to validate the council’s Inclusive Clean Air Communication Strategy. Participants included representatives from ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), alongside climate and public health organisations.
FCC officials said the strategy marks a deliberate move away from top-down messaging toward evidence-based communication shaped by community input. Insights from recent interviews and focus groups with residents will now inform public campaigns aimed at shifting behaviour and curbing pollution.
“Air pollution is rising, and tackling it means involving communities directly,” an FCC spokesperson said. “By building our messaging around residents’ lived experiences, we can deliver interventions that actually work and improve health outcomes.”
The initiative is backed by C40 Cities, a global network supporting urban climate action. The group is working with Freetown to strengthen local air-quality measures and scale up solutions driven by neighbourhoods most affected by pollution.
According to FCC and its partners, the new strategy rests on three pillars: data-driven communication, sustained community engagement, and broad stakeholder collaboration. Council leaders stressed that combining government leadership with active public participation is essential for lasting gains in air quality.
The workshop signals growing consensus that cleaner air in Freetown will depend not only on policy, but on residents shaping and owning the solutions.
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