The Problem
Over three billion people worldwide cook and/or heat their homes with simple stoves that burn polluting fuels, resulting in a smoky and unhealthy living environment.
Around 1.96 million deaths worldwide are caused by illnesses related to smoke inhalation. Pneumonia in infants and small children is the primary cause of death, and there is good evidence linking smoke to chronic bronchitis in women, low birth-weight, active TB, and various eye ailments.
Where woodfuel is scarce, gathering it can increase levels of deforestation—often leading to tensions between local people and refugees, who both rely on the use of wood for fuel. With increasing global warming, desertification is a growing issue.
This family lives in Kebribeyah refugee camp, where women spend an average of four hours a day cooking.
Now you can do something about it.
Gathering fuel can lead to women being assaulted—particularly in conflict situations. Studies show that women fear falling with heavy loads and being attacked by people or wild animals. They worry about infants left at home with their older siblings. They suffer extreme hunger and fatigue.
Polluting, inefficient stoves and fuels restrict opportunities for education and economic activity to escape poverty. Many women are unaware of the link between smoke and ill-health, and/or they may not have money for expensive solutions, such as bottled gas.
International policies rarely acknowledge the effects of unhealthy and unsustainable cooking fuels, although there is growing international awareness. Governments consider economic statistics, but this problem is easily neglected because many women work at home, because children are not statistically considered, and because the ill-health and loss of earnings fall outside the country’s formal economic data.