ABUJA, Nigeria (AA) - Some 22,500 children died from air pollution in Nigeria's most populous southwestern state of Lagos in 2021, according to environmental authorities.

The figures were revealed by Dolapo Fasawe, head of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), on the sidelines of the opening ceremony for the "EKO Clean Air" project on Saturday in Lagos.

Fasawe underscored the authorities' efforts to provide clean air and a sustainable environment.

"The government is teaching the people the practice of waste to wealth by buying the plastic waste, E-waste and used oils from them, thus petting money to their pocket," he said.

Lagos, with a population of roughly 15 million people, is known as the financial hub of Nigeria, but its unhealthy air causes premature deaths and diseases.

According to the Global Burden of Disease study 2019, in Nigeria, 78% of air-pollution-related deaths were recorded among children under five.

Adam Abu-Bashal/AA