ICAQ-Africa 2022

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.

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

Paper Submission

To submit a paper 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 paper (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 paper is June 30, 2022 has been extended. The new deadline is the 22nd of July, 2022. The paper submission is now closed!

The paper 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: Papers not meeting these requirements will not be accepted.

Please use the template and submit your paper 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 paper in both languages, English and French. The presentation could be in both languages.  

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

Important Deadlines

• First call for papers:  May 1, 2022
• Paper submission deadline: June 30, 2022.
• Extended deadline: July 22, 2022
• Registration open/close: May 1 - October 1, 2022
• Conference date:  October 11-14, 2022

Registration

Authors should register in the indico platform and submit their papers. Papers are reviewed as soon as they are submitted. 

• Fees : NO Registration fees required. 

Invited Organizations

• World Resource Institute (WRI) 
• Health Effects Institute (HEI) 
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ghana 
• Centre de Gestion de la Qualité de l'Air (CGQA) Senegal 
• National Agency for Environmental Management (ANGE), Togo
• Ministry of Energy, Mines and Sustainable Development (Morocco)
• International Society of Exposure Sciences (ISES)
• African Group on Atmospheric Sciences (ANGA)
• International Society for Indoor Air Quality (ISIAQ)
• The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) 
• 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)
• IQAir
• UN Environment Programme 
• National Aeronautics Space and Administration (NASA) 

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)
• Clean Air Journal (https://cleanairjournal.org.za)

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
• Health & Technology Research Center (H&TRC), Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa, Portugal
• University Mohamed V, Rabat, Morocco
• Maastricht University, Netherlands
• Université Paris Cité, France

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). 

Please contact the secretariat (afs4aq@gmail.com) for more information.