Noise pollution in Africa impacting mental health

By Khulile Thwala

According to a website called World Health Rankings, out of the top 10 countries with the highest suicide rates, six are in Africa.

They are at number one Lesotho, number three Eswatini, number seven Zimbabwe, number eight South Africa, number nine Mozambique and number 10, the Central African Republic.

An article published by the mental health magazine Psyche stated that in many African countries, there is an extreme noise pollution problem.

“So much so that some African immigrants have been surprised by the lack of noise in countries in the west or east that they’ve emigrated to,” reported Psyche.

It was further reported that the culture shock is much the same for people who moved to African countries. In one such article, the issues of noise caused by churches ranked at the top. Within the article, there are screenshots from a Ghana ex-pat group. The residents discuss the amount of noise from churches, not only in Ghana but other countries such as Togo and Nigeria.

There have been some efforts made by some governments in Africa, including Zimbabwe, to curb noise pollution. Such as in Uganda where a law has been implemented to punish those making the most noise in the capital city of Kampala.  In Eswatini, previous reports stated that some excessively loud noise coming from a liquor shop and a church had
jeopardised tourism in the Lubombo Region, prompting the Lubombo Conservancy (LC) to lodge complaints.

The noise affected wild animals and tourists who book into hotels and lodges situated in the area. This was eventually investigated by the Eswatini Environmental Authority (EEA), which recommended that a fine be paid by the owner of the shop in question.

The complaints were about the loud noise which was frustrating for tourists visiting the lodges around that area, more so because it went on throughout the night and at some point, up to 6am. Unregulated noise laws cause churches and bars to create as much noise as they want, which causes more issues with citizens.