Africa Roadmap for Transformative Action to End Open Burning of Waste Endorsed at AMCEN

Across Africa, open burning and uncontrolled dumping of waste remain urgent challenges with catastrophic impacts on human health, the environment, and climate. Nearly 1.2 million premature deaths are caused every year in Africa by air pollution to which open burning of waste is one of the primary contributors. Open burning of waste is responsible for an estimated 11% of global black carbon emissions, causing respiratory diseases, cancers and premature deaths, and accelerating climate change.  

The Africa Roadmap on Transformative Action to End Open Burning of Waste identifies the key actions to address the systemic deficiencies in waste management and promote waste to resource conversion that could generate multiple social, economic and environmental benefits. In 2025, the African Ministerial Conference on Environment endorsed the Roadmap, calling on all African national governments and local authorities to take concrete actions to implement the Roadmap.  This is part of the wider Climate and Clean Air Coalition ‘Transformative Action in the Waste Sector’ project, that is aiming to create the enabling conditions to change behaviour, policy and practice to end open burning of waste in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Asia and Latin America Roadmaps will be published in 2026.

The Regional Roadmap is split into sections, highlighting:

• why we should all take urgent action to respond to the waste crisis and end open burning,  
• what action needs to be taken by national governments, local authorities and finance institutions, in the form of the transformative action framework,  
• and how these actions can be implemented.

Stakeholder Briefs

Stakeholder briefs with recommended actions for national government, local authorities and finance institutions are also available to download below.

Kisumu City Action Plan  

The Africa Regional Roadmap was piloted in Kisumu City, Kenya to create a local transformational action plan and share lessons with the region. Using a multi-stakeholder approach led by Kisumu City, the plan outlined specific actions under eight objectives aligned with the Regional Roadmap’s transformative framework, grouped into three categories.

• No-cost Actions: Actions which can be paid for by using existing County budgets or through spending by other stakeholders from their existing budgets
• Low-cost Actions: Actions which require new and additional budgets, but below the levels that could be funded through major investment bids
• Investment Actions: Actions which will require significant investments through a combination of public funds, grants, low-interest loans and other financial instruments

This is part of the wider Climate and Clean Air Coalition ‘Transformative Action in the Waste Sector’ project, that is aiming to create the enabling conditions to change behaviour, policy and practice to end open burning of waste in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Asia and Latin America Roadmaps will be published in 2026.  

About the implementation partners  

About Engineering X

Engineering X is a growing collaboration that promotes the role of engineering in tackling safety and sustainability challenges by building global connections across sectors and disciplines. Founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, Engineering X champions systems approaches and amplifies unheard voices to ensure solutions are sustainable and locally appropriate. Engineering X coordinated the consortium for the wider global project developing Roadmaps for Africa, Asia and Latin America, and led the development of the Africa Roadmap, authored by Professor Desta Mebratu.  

About Practical Action 

Practical Action is an international development organization with a vision for a world that works better for everyone. They exist to change the systems that keep people in poverty and vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, nature loss and pollution. They work alongside communities to build resilient livelihoods and thriving, inclusive societies. Practical Action has led the development of the City Action Plan, in close partnership with Kisumu City and other stakeholders.  

About UN Habitat 

UN-Habitat is the United Nations agency working towards a better urban future by promoting socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. As the custodian agency for SDG indicator 11.6.1, UN-Habitat developed the Waste Wise Cities Tool (WaCT) to monitor municipal solid waste management and support countries in tracking progress toward reducing the environmental impact of cities. For this Roadmap, UN-Habitat led the estimation of regional greenhouse gas (GHG) and short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) emissions from open burning, as well as GHG emission baselines from the waste sector in each pilot city through the application of the Solid Waste Emissions Estimate Tool (SWEET) and other complementary tools. Through these activities, UN-Habitat contributes to strengthened climate action and the development of regional and city-level roadmaps and action plans aimed at reducing emissions from waste management and open burning, thereby fostering healthier and more sustainable urban environments.