Outdoor air quality funding to Sub-Saharan Africa declined by 91% in 2023, falling from $129m to $11.8m, according to the State of Global Air Quality Funding 2025 report released by the Clean Air Fund and Climate Policy Initiative.
The region received less than 1% of total global outdoor air quality finance, despite carrying some of the highest pollution burdens worldwide.
The contraction coincides with a marked increase in fossil fuel-prolonging aid, which rose 80% year-on-year to $9.5bn, more than two and a half times the amount directed to clean air globally.
The report was tabled ahead of SA’s G20 presidency engagements, where air quality has been elevated as a stand-alone priority within the environment and climate workstream.
This marks the first formal recognition of air pollution as a discrete policy area under G20 auspices.
The presidency’s thematic framing — “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability” — has been interpreted by observers as a strategic attempt to align domestic environmental imperatives with multilateral development finance reform.
“SA knows the reality of this crisis. The vast majority of our population breathes air that does not meet WHO guidelines,” forestry, fisheries & environment minister Dion George said.
“Yet we have also shown progress is possible — through cross-government action, strong legal frameworks, cleaner transport and energy. What is needed now is the finance to match ambition.”
Main Points
- Outdoor air quality funding to sub-Saharan Africa dropped by 91% in 2023 — from $129m to $11.8m.
- The region received less than 1% of global outdoor air quality finance.
- Fossil fuel-supporting aid rose by 80% to $9.5bn.
- 65% of global air quality finance went to Bangladesh, China and the Philippines.
- Five of the 10 most polluted countries — all in Sub-Saharan Africa — received less than $1 per capita in funding.
- SA’s G20 presidency includes air quality as a new priority under climate and environment talks.
- WHO set a voluntary global target to halve the health impact of air pollution by 2040.
- The Clean Air Fund called the 91% funding drop a "wake-up call"
The report’s findings are grounded in verified international development finance data from 2019 to 2023 and include analysis of bilateral and multilateral donor flows.
It identifies a persistent structural imbalance in the allocation of air quality funding, with 65% of outdoor air quality finance concentrated in three countries — Bangladesh, China and the Philippines.
Of the 10 countries with the highest PM2.5 concentrations globally, seven received less than $1 per capita in air quality funding in 2023. Five of these — the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon — are located in sub-Saharan Africa.
The report noted that the World Health Assembly in May 2025 endorsed a voluntary global target to halve the health impacts of anthropogenic air pollution by 2040.
The continent is urbanising at unprecedented speed — and if we let our cities grow on coal and diesel, we will lock in illness and inequality for decades
— Vumile Senene
country lead for SA at the Clean Air Fund
This is the first time air quality has been incorporated into a WHO roadmap with an explicit health outcome. The Assembly’s resolution, while non-binding, is expected to inform future programming under the International Health Regulations and the Sustainable Development Goals framework.
“The continent is urbanising at unprecedented speed — and if we let our cities grow on coal and diesel, we will lock in illness and inequality for decades,” said Vumile Senene, country lead for SA at the Clean Air Fund.
“The 91% collapse in outdoor air quality funding to sub-Saharan Africa last year is a wake-up call. This is where investment is needed most: to save lives, protect health and create fairer, more resilient economies.”
The report recommended eight procedural actions for development finance institutions, including the integration of air quality co-benefits into climate and infrastructure projects, the institutionalisation of air quality as a policy priority, and the redirection of fossil fuel-prolonging aid towards clean energy transitions.
It also called for improved cross-donor co-ordination and the standardisation of air quality finance tracking.
“The availability of data from public actors is poor, and when available, the level of finance directed to improve air quality is far too low.”
Barbara Buchner, global MD of Climate Policy Initiative, an analysis and advisory organisation with deep expertise in finance and policy, said, “But our work confirms that the opportunities are tremendous. With public budgets constrained, increasing air quality finance is one of the most impactful investments that can achieve multiple goals.”
While the G20 presidency offers a platform for agenda-setting, the feasibility of redirecting global finance flows remains contingent on donor willingness and the use of new tracking mechanisms.
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