In the News
February 15, 2025
By Michael Asharley
Growing up in the small coastal town of Vodza near Keta in Ghana’s Volta Region, Collins Gameli Hodoli remembers the warm glow of kerosene lamps lighting his childhood home. It was a common sight, a necessity in communities where electricity was unreliable. But what he did not know then was that the thick, invisible fumes filling the air were silently harming his health.
Today, as an Air Quality Scientist and Diplomatic Strategist, Hodoli is leading a groundbreaking initiative to ensure no child in Malawi faces the same silent dangers he once did.
“Growing up with kerosene lamps with no knowledge of its impact on my health then is not an experience any child should have,” Hodoli reflects, his voice carrying the weight of personal experience. His realization came in 2016 when he encountered a devastating statistic: “6,500 Ghanaians die every year from air pollution – WHO report.” The news hit him hard.
“I was devastated and asked the question, ‘Why was nobody doing anything about this?'” This moment propelled him toward a PhD in Environment and Agrifood at Cranfield University, England, where he discovered the transformative power of state-of-the-art air quality monitoring technologies.
Now, Hodoli is spearheading the Malawi Initiative for Clean Air Solutions (MIfCAS), a pioneering project to establish the country’s first comprehensive air quality monitoring network with funding from the Energy Policy Institute of The University of Chicago.