Hazardous Waste Management in Ghana: <br> Challenges, Health Impacts, and Policy Directions

Ghana faces a severe and escalating hazardous waste management crisis driven by rapid urbanisation, industrial growth, electronic waste importation, and weak enforcement of environmental regulations. This manuscript provides a comprehensive review of the types, sources, and distribution of hazardous waste in Ghana, with particular attention to electronic waste (e-waste), industrial effluents, agricultural chemicals, and healthcare waste. Evidence from peer-reviewed literature and policy documents is synthesised to assess the magnitude of health and environmental impacts, including heavy metal contamination of soils and water bodies, respiratory diseases, cancer risks, and recurrent cholera and typhoid outbreaks. The regulatory framework governing hazardous waste-including the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act (Act 917, 2016) and Ghana's international obligations under the Basel Convention-is critically evaluated. Key governance gaps are identified, including inadequate enforcement capacity, insufficient infrastructure, non-ratification of the Bamako Convention, and underfunding of local assemblies. Drawing on national reports, economic analyses, and global best practices, this paper recommends a set of evidence-based policy interventions including formalisation of the informal recycling sector, adoption of extended producer responsibility frameworks, investment in treatment infrastructure, and ratification of the Bamako Convention. The findings underscore that hazardous waste management in Ghana is not merely an environmental issue but a matter of public health, economic development, and environmental justice.