NMICS 2010 Report - Central Bureau of Statistics

NMICS 2010, Mid- and Far Western RegionsSolid-fuel use on its own is a poor proxy for indoor air pollution, since the concentration ofpollutants differs when the same fuel is burnt in different types of stove or fire. Use of closed stoveswith chimneys minimizes indoor air pollution, while an open stove or fire with no chimney or hoodmeans that there is no protection from the harmful effects of solid fuels. Solid-fuel use by place ofcooking for household members in the MFWR is shown in Table CH.11. Some 46 percent ofhousehold members used a separate room as a kitchen, but another 46 percent used any place inthe house for cooking. A low proportion of household members used a separate building (sevenpercent) and only one percent cooked outdoors.There was little variation in the use of a separate kitchen by region or urban/rural area.Subregionally, the highest percentage was in the Mid-Western Hills (53 percent) and lowest was inthe Far Western Mountains (30 percent). Having a separate kitchen had a positive correlation withthe level of education of the household head and with the economic status of the household. Inhouseholds where the household head had at least secondary education, households members weremore likely to cook in a separate kitchen than in households where the household head had noeducation (56 percent compared to 40 percent). In households in the richest quintile, householdsmembers were more likely to cook in a separate kitchen than in households in the poorest quintile(64 percent compared to 24 percent). The practice of cooking elsewhere in the house was mostcommon in the Far Western Mountains (68 percent), in rural areas (47 percent) and in households inthe poorest quintile (75 percent).74