- Asia, led by China and India in the lead and Latin America have for the most part, succeeded in resolving the issue of unclean cooking over the last 20 years.
- In Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, the figure is at 70 per cent.
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Several governments and the private sector across the globe have pledged to contribute $2.2 billion (Sh287 billion) towards funding Africa’s clean cooking drive.
Announced during the inaugural clean cooking in Africa summit hosted in France, the funding seeks to accelerate the progress towards promoting safe alternatives to cooking with charcoal, wood and biomass.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) says the funding will spread over the next 10 years and will do much to bridge the 1.2 billion gap of people without access to clean cooking facilities.
Using fuels such as agricultural waste and animal dung, according to International Energy Agency, is among the biggest causes of premature death in the continent, mostly in the Sub-Sahara.
Kenya, which loses at least 23,000 lives every year, is among the countries set to benefit from the funding.
Speaking at the summit, AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina said the institution will commit 20 per cent of its annual energy lending towards clean cooking.
“The Bank’s pledge of $200 million (Sh26 billion) per year represents an important contribution to the $4 billion (Sh521.9 billion) per year needed to allow African families to have access to clean cooking by 2030,” Adesina said.
He regrettably noted that the tools for enabling clean cooking access are readily available and affordable, but has not been sufficiently prioritised.
As a result over 10 years, he warns that if efforts are not improved, six million people in the continent, mainly women, will die prematurely.
Worldwide, the lack of access to clean cooking affects over two billion people, more than half of whom are in Africa, typically cooking over open fires and basic stoves.
Opportunities for education, employment and independence are also severely impacted because women instead spend hours each day foraging for rudimentary fuels.
On his part, France president Emmanuel Macron said his country pledges to invest €100 million (Sh14.2 billion) over five years.
He further committed that France will mobilise more funding through the Paris Pact for People and the Planet and Finance in Common.
The governments of Tanzania and Norway also helped chair the summit.
Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre, said Norway would contribute $50 million (Sh6.5 billion) to the efforts.
Notably Asia, led by China and India in the lead and Latin America have for the most part, succeeded in resolving the issue of unclean cooking over the last 20 years.
However, today in Benin, Ethiopia, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, more than 80 per cent of the population still depends on biomass to cook their meals.
In Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, the figure is at 70 per cent.