International Conference on Air Quality in Africa ICAQ on October 11-14, 2022 in Dakar, Senegal

AIMS AND SCOPE

Atmospheric pollution is a global public health concern and is responsible of a number of diseases (asthma, cancer, stroke, dementia, etc.) and accounts for approximately one million deaths in Africa each year. In 2019, the loss in economic output due to air pollution-related morbidity and mortality was estimated at around 1% of GDP for Ethiopia, Ghana and Rwanda. Particulate matter (PM) pollution was estimated to be responsible for 1.96 billion lost IQ points in African children. Despite these consequences, the awareness of the severity of the problem is appreciated differently in the various parts of Africa due to lack of data, information, and expertise in addressing the causes.

The progress in abating air pollution is uneven across the continent due to different economic transitions performed in different countries and the different sources of pollution in the regions ranging from natural sources such as mineral dust in the Saharan regions and organic matters from forests to anthropogenic emissions from the urban regions. In addition to the ambient pollution, household emissions are also a concern due to the exposure to high levels of toxic combustion products from cooking and other indoor activities such as residential heating.

To assess the level of information available within the continent and to identify specific regions and activities of concern, it is necessary to provide a platform where current information and findings, as well as observations can be presented. Thus, due to the lack of regional information about air quality in Africa which is even more pronounced in the sub-Saharan region, this event is organized to : (1) learn about various air quality activities and actions going on in different regions of Africa, (2) improve awareness of the importance of air quality, (3) create a platform for exchange of information on recent air quality actions, experience and actors in Africa and (4) improve the network amongst scientists working in air quality in Africa.

The conference has several objectives: (1) review the state of air quality studies in Africa, (2) interlink various expertise in air quality in Africa to develop new regional networks and frameworks for clean air acts within Africa, (3) learn about various sources and effects of air pollution in different parts of Africa, (4) build air quality capacity and stimulate learning related to air pollution mitigation strategies and (5) summarize the outcomes of the meeting into a white paper highlighting the current state of air quality activities and requirements within Africa.

The event targets students, researchers, governmental, non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations and agencies, researchers, international partners and regional stakeholders in Africa as well as interested individuals. Around 150 participants are anticipated to participate at the meeting.

TOPICS

The event will be covered by various topics that will allow the participants to explore the diversity involved in understanding air quality and pollution in Africa. These topics include but are not limited to the following:

Sources and characterization of air pollutants

Sensors and air quality measurement

Building and mine ventilation

Data, modelling and forecasting

Air pollution and health effects

Socio-Economic impact of air pollution

Policy, legislation and regulation

Environmental protection technologies

Research, collaboration and innovation

Education and public awareness

Environmental impact assessment and justice

Adaptation and mitigation strategies

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

To submit an abstract you first need to create an account on-line on indico, which is our conference management system. The submission form is then available under “Submission”. The extended abstract (plain text) should be four (4) pages in length. Authors’ contact details (full address and email of all the contributing authors) and affiliations must be entered in the dedicated fields of the submission form. The deadline to upload the abstract is June 30, 2022.

The abstract must properly address the following points:

Introduction: background and motivation with references to similar/previous works

Research question: description of working hypotheses for non-specialized audience

Methodology: description of the methods, experimental setup and procedure

Results and discussion: analysis of findings supported figures, tables and relevent references

Conclusions/implications: (expected) impact and value of the work for the scientific community.

IMPORTANT: Abstracts not meeting these requirements will not be accepted.

Please kindly submit your abstract here: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1121006/abstracts/

CONFERENCE FORMAT

The conference is fully virtual and the event will take place on zoom. A link will be generated and sent to registered participants.

The event will have three main components. A scientific program consisting of presentations of recent findings, side events dedicated for the presentation of instrumentations of general interest, and plenary sessions for initiating dialogues or obtaining overview from experts in the field of air quality. Side events will provide opportunity for companies to highlight their instruments or tools that can be of importance to the broader audience. Other air quality and pollution societies will participate in these events to share experience and enhance the current network. Finally, the plenary sessions consisting of invited talks or panel discussions will be done once a day. Societies and institutions will contribute towards the topics as well as during plenary sessions.

LANGUAGE

[English] Authors are invited to submit their abstract in both languages, English and French. The presentation could be in both languages.

[Français] Les auteurs peuvent soumettre leur résumé (version large) en français ou en anglais. Le choix de la langue de présentation est laissé à l'auteur.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

First call for abstracts: April 1, 2022

Abstract submission deadline: June 30, 2022

Registration open/close: April 1 till September 1, 2022

Conference date: October 11-14, 2022

REGISTRATION

Authors should register in the indico plateform and submit their abstracts. Abstracts are reviewed as soon as they are submitted. Once the absctract is accepted, authors should finalize their register by paying the requested fees:

Students: US$ 25

Academia: US$ 50

Others: US$ 50

Final deadline for registration: September 1, 2022. The payment will be done preferably through the indico plateform (paypal). Other means of payment could be also used.

AWARDS

Several awards are available for outstanding participants (Best presentation, Best paper, Best poster). All participants will receive a participation certificate.

INVITED SPEAKERS

Prof. Philip J. Landrigan, Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, USA

Prof Prashant Kumar, University of Surrey, UK

Prof. Peter Knippertz, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany

Dr. Michael R. Giordano, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Dr. Philip Osano, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) - Africa, Kenya

Prof. Dan Westervelt, University of Columbia, USA

Sara Tery, US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), USA

Prof. Gregory Jenkins, Pennsylvania State University, USA (tbc)

Prof. Christina Isaxon, Lund University, Sweden

Prof. Francis Pope,University of Birmingham, UK

Dr. Gizaw Mengistu, Botswana International University of Science and technology, UK (tbc)

Prof. Solomon Bililign, North Carolina A&T State University, USA

INVITED ORGANIZATIONS

Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Africa

World Resource Institute (WRI) Africa

Health Effects Institute (HEI)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ghana (tbc)

Centre de Gestion de la Qualité de l'Air (CGQA) Senegal (tbc)

National Agency for Environmental Management (ANGE), Togo

International Society of Exposure Sciences (ISES)

African Group on Atmospheric Sciences (ANGA)

The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) (tbc)

The World Academy of Science (TWAS) (tbc)

Clean Air Monitoring and Solutions Network (CAMS-Net)

Africa qualité de l'air (AfriqAir)

African School of Physics (ASP)

African School on Atmospheric Science (ASAS)

Africa Climate Conversations

AirQo

IQAir (tbc)

UN Environment Programme (tbc)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (tbc)

SELECTED JOURNALS

ICAQ-Africa has teamed up with a number of scientific journals. A number of selected high-impact full texts will be considered for publication in these journals. The paper selection will be carried out during the peer review process and during the conference. Submitted papers must not be under consideration by any other journals.

La Météorologie (https://lameteorologie.fr)

COMMITTEES

Conference secretariat

Busisiwe Shezi, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), South Africa

Organizing committee

Bertrand Tchanche, Alioune Diop University, Senegal (Chair)

Wahid Mellouki, CNRS-ICARE, France (co-Chair)

Fomba Wadinga, Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Germany (co-Chair)

Programme Committee

Marina de Almeida Silva, Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saude de Lisboa, Portugal (Chair)

Eunice Omanga, Kenya (co-Chair)

Bernard Nana, Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Burkina Faso

Mamadou Simina Drame, FST/Université Cheick Anta Diop, Senegal

Celia Mir, Université de Paris, France

Babatunde Awokola, Nigeria/Gambia

Scientific Committee

Mike Giordano, AfriqAir, Rwanda (Chair)

Dan Westerwelt, University of Columbia, USA (co-Chair)

Hourcade Renaud, CNRS - CED Centre Emile Durkheim (Bordeaux), France

Mamadou Simina Drame, FST/Université Cheick Anta Diop, Senegal

Julien Bahino, Université Félix Houphouet-Boigny, Cote d'Ivoire

Eva Pilot, Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Bernard Nana, Ecole Normale Supérieure/ Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Burkina Faso

Engineer Bainomughisa, Makerere University/AIRQO, Uganda

Aminata Mbow-Diokhane, Centre de Gestion de la Qualité de l'Air (CGQA), Senegal

Sabi Kokou, Université de Lomé, Togo

Farid Rahal, Université des Sciences et de la Technologie d'Oran - Mohamed Boudiaf, Algérie

Marina de Almeida Silva, Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saude de Lisboa, Portugal

Bénoit Kafando, Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Burkina Faso

Kelechi Longinus Njoku, University of Lagos, Lagos Nigeria

Sekou Keita, Université Peleforo Gon Coulibaly de Korhogo, Cote d'Ivoire

Kifle Zeleke Aregahegn, Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Germany

Patrick de Marie Katoto, Catholic Univ. of Bukavu (DR Congo) / Univ. of Cape Town (S. Africa)

Emmanuel Appoh, Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana

Kayaba Haro, Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Burkina Faso

ORGANIZERS AND SPONSORS

Organizers

The conference is organized by the African Society for Air Quality (ASAQ) in collaboration with:

Joseph Ki Zerbo University, Burkina Faso

Alioune Diop University, Senegal

Cheick Anta Diop University, Senegal

Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Germany

University of Lisbon, Portugal

University Mohamed V, Rabat, Morocco

Maastricht University, Netherlands

Sponsors

Sponsorhip of ICAQ-Africa is vital to insuring the cost of the event is kept low to enabling all participants to attend. Our community scientists, government employees, university researchers, and educators can gain great value from participating in this conference but are only able to do so with a small budget.

Three sponsor levels are made available: platinum (USD 2000), silver (USD 1000) and bronze (USD 500). Sponsors have the possibility to showcase their products during the industry pitch and their logo displayed in all documents related to the conference.

Please contact the secretariat ([email protected]) for more information