The 2026 Africa Clean Air Forum convened more than 500 participants from over 40 countries in Pretoria, South Africa, bringing together leaders and practitioners from across Africa’s air quality landscape. As the flagship event of AfriCAN, the Forum provided a continent-wide platform for connection, exchange and collective action.
Held under the theme “investment case for clean air and healthy cities,” the forum brought air quality into focus as an essential investment for healthier, more resilient cities. It connected diverse perspectives and expertise around the priorities shaping Africa’s response to air pollution.
The four-day gathering strengthened relationships across sectors and borders, opening pathways for new partnerships and continued collaboration beyond the forum. It reflected the growing momentum behind a more coordinated, evidence-driven approach to improving air quality across Africa.
Highlights
Clean air is not simply an environmental issue. It is a development imperative. It is about protecting human health, improving educational outcomes, strengthening economic productivity and ensuring environmental justice for present and future generations.
Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Clean air is not only a public health imperative, but it is an investment in sustainable development, resilient cities, and economic opportunity. In other words, the investment case for clean air in Africa is strong. The Climate and Clean Air Coalition, together with the African Union Commission, is supporting an Africa Clean Air Programme, turning evidence into action, mobilising investment, and accelerating African-led solutions that improve air quality, strengthen climate resilience, and deliver healthier lives for millions.
Martina Otto, Head of Climate and Clean Air Coalition Secretariat, UN Environment Programme
Financing for clean air is starting to move but very slowly. In most of Africa, the cost of air pollution remains invisible to investors. When you can’t measure pollution, you can’t price the risks and financing stalls.
Francis V. Fragano, World Bank Group
The presence of the Chief Executive and the city’s top management is very important because if we are to drive any change, or contribute new content in the body of knowledge, we need the Chief Executive at the forefront.
Sharifah Buzeki, Executive Director, Kampala Capital City Authority
African cities cannot work in isolation. We need to share technologies and policy experience, because data is the foundation of effective policy, and innovation is transforming how we monitor our air. AfriCAN brings together the partners and the evidence that make this possible.
H.E Dr Mathew Owili Ochieng, Deputy Governor, Kisumu County
The air above the Highveld, above our townships, above our children’s schools, does not respect the boundary between a scientific finding and a political decision. We know enough. The evidence is not the missing piece – the will is. I am asking each of you, in your own sphere of influence, to close that gap. Enforce the standard. Fund the transition. Protect the data. Inform the community
Dr Caradee Wright, South African Medical Research Council
It is clear that air quality objectives are not significantly or well enough embedded into budgetary systems, rarely appearing as distinct budget lines. Similarly, public investment systems do not tend to prioritise air quality. If we want to attract additional financing, we have to present air quality investment in a way that attracts investors and derisks their investments.
Moortaza Jiwanji, UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub
The air a child breathes is too often determined by where they are born. That is an issue of justice. We need to look beyond the statistics and recognise that behind every number is a lived experience. Investing in air quality means not only monitoring pollution, but listening to communities and designing solutions with them, not for them.
Xoli Fuyani, Founder, Black Girls Rising
Explore the research, evidence and ideas shared at the forum in the Africa Clean Air Forum 2026 Abstract Book.
For more details and insights from the forum, visit the main website.
