Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

D E V E L O P I N G E N E R G Y T O M E E T D E V E L O P M E N T N E E D S / 2 5 1evening classes. It also allows access to educational media andcommunications (Information and Communication Technologies[ICTs]) in schools and at home, thus increasing educationalopportunities and allowing distance learning. All in all, energy canhelp to create a more child-friendly environment (access to cleanwater, sanitation, lighting and space heating/cooling) thus improvingattendance at school and reducing drop-out rates.Gender equality and women’s empowermentLack of energy services creates particular hardships for women sincethey are generally responsible for gathering fuels and performinghousehold duties involving energy use such as cooking. Supplies oftraditional fuel sources such as wood are being rapidly diminishedand degraded due to a combination of economic and environmentalpressures. Women often have to spend a great deal of time andphysical energy searching for fuel far from home and hauling it backover long distances. This added investment of women’s time andeffort is necessary for the survival of families, but is not generallytaken into account in calculating national energy needs andexpenditures. These chores often leave little time for productiveemployment, education, community involvement or other activitiesbeyond what is necessary for survival. Therefore it is obvious that alack of energy services and infrastructure (water supply systems)limits women’s productive and community development activities.Only a functioning infrastructure including energy and water supplyallows women to escape this vicious circle because it frees up theirtime; having access to lighting in the evening makes it possible forthem to pursue educational and entrepreneurial opportunities.Women in developing countries have a lot of knowledge abouttraditional fuels, and those who are educated about energyalternatives can also play important roles as educators and activistsin energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and better uses oftraditional fuels within energy projects.Women’s micro-enterprises (an important factor in householdincome as well as in women’s welfare and empowerment) tend tobe either heat-intensive (food processing) or light-intensive (labourintensivehome industries with work in the evenings). Lack ofadequate energy supplies and other coordinated support for theseactivities affects women’s ability to operate these micro-enterprisesprofitably and safely (Cecelski, 2000).HealthSome 3 billion people worldwide rely on biomass fuels and coal fortheir cooking and heating needs. Of these, about 800 milliondepend on agricultural residues and animal dung as sources of fueldue to severe wood-fuel shortages. Biomass accounts for 80 percentof all household fuel consumption in developing countries, most ofit for cooking, which is done primarily by women.Traditional low-efficiency cooking stoves produce a number ofpollutants associated with incomplete combustion including fineparticulates, carbon monoxide and carcinogenic compounds such aspolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Exposure to these pollutants canlead to acute respiratory infections, chronic obstructive lungdiseases, lung cancer and eye problems. Exposure to thesepollutants has also been linked with pregnancy-related problemssuch as stillbirths and low birth weight. One study in western Indiafound a 50 percent increase in stillbirths associated with theexposure of pregnant women to indoor air pollution, which mostlikely contributes to excess heart disease as well. Other than thesehealth problems, indoor air pollution is associated with blindnessand changes in the immune system. A 1995 study in eastern Indiafound the immune system of newborns to be depressed due to theindoor air pollution.The official number of deaths among children under five is10.8 million for the year 2000, 19.4 percent of which are due toacute respiratory infection. Estimates suggest that as much as 60percent of the global burden of acute respiratory disease isassociated with indoor air pollution and other environmental factors.When fuel is scarce, the health of the whole family suffers asthere is less cooked food prepared and less ability to boil water. Thecontributions of clean energy, particularly electricity, to health canbe summarized as follows.■ It helps provide nutritious cooked food, space heating and boiledwater, contributing to better health.■ It enables pumped clean water and purification.■ It can be safer (less burns, accidents and house fires).■ It helps provide access to better medical facilities for maternalcare including medicine refrigeration, sterilization, electronicmedical equipment and access to up-to-date medicalinformation.■ In health centres, it enables night availability, helps retainqualified staff and allows equipment use (e.g. sterilization).■ It allows vaccine and medicine storage for preventing andtreating diseases and infections.■ It enables access to health education media through ICT andbroadcasting.