Climate Action 2011-2012

small scale finance
special focus: africa
Clean cookstoves: small
intervention, transformational
change
By Radha Muthiah, Executive Director, Global Alliance
for Clean Cookstoves
Two million people around the world die annually from
the seemingly simple task of cooking for themselves and
their families – because each day nearly three billion people
rely on solid fuels such as coal or biomass to power their
open fires or rudimentary cookstoves. These are fuels that
cause disease, injury and pollution through the toxic smoke
they emit. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves –
with over 175 partners and growing – was formed last year
to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women and
combat climate change by creating a thriving global market
for clean and efficient stoves and fuels.
Every day, nearly half the world’s population is exposed
to smoke emitted from traditional cookstoves and open
fires – or, put another way, relies on smoke-producing fuels
such as coal, wood, dung or charcoal to cook their food. The
toxic smoke emitted from polluting and inefficient cooking
can fill homes that often have little or no ventilation, and
can cause life-threatening illnesses, such as cancers, diseases
of the heart and lungs, pneumonia and tuberculosis. Other
disabling injuries like blindness and burns can also occur.
Household air pollution increases the chance of delivering
low birth-weight infants, who, if they survive early
childhood, are at a greater risk of developing an NCD in
their lifetimes. It is also a major risk factor for acute lower
respiratory infections, including pneumonias, which are
responsible for 20 per cent of child mortality worldwide.
Victims of HAP are predominantly women and children.
© GIZ
Half the world’s population relies on
smoke-producing fuels to cook their food.
HouseHold air pollution
Because of its wide-ranging consequences, World Health
Organization (WHO) research has concluded that household
air pollution (HAP) is the fifth greatest health risk in
developing countries. Using the same geographic standard,
HAP is the leading risk-factor for non-communicable
diseases (NCDs) among non-smoking women.
table 1. solid fuel use and annual
deatHs from HouseHold air pollution
Country Percentage of population Total deaths
(Alliance member) using solid fuels attributable to
solid fuel use
Burkina Faso >95 16,500
Ethiopia >95 72,400
Kenya 63 14,300
Lesotho 83 200
Nigeria 67 95,300
Rwanda >95 12,500
Tanzania >95 18,900
Source: WHO, 2009
In Africa, exposure to HAP is particularly severe. Analysing
2009 data, WHO discovered that 95 per cent or more of
the population in over 20 nations throughout the continent
relied on solid fuels. Among the seven African nations
that are part of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves,
according to the same data set, more than 230,000 people
were killed from complications related to HAP.
impact on climate
Burning solid biomass significantly impacts the external
environment and global climate, from fuel collection
through the cooking process. Women and children typically
© UN Photo/Tim McKulka
Exposure to HAP is the 5th greatest
health risk in developing countries.
97 climateactionprogramme.org