Rachel Ruto
NAIROBI – More than 600 million Africans lack access to electricity, and over 900 million lack access to clean forms of cooking. The consequences for the health, livelihoods, and well-being of both urban and rural populations – especially women and girls – are severe and far-reaching.
In 2021, four out of ten people without access to clean-cooking facilities lived in Africa, where nearly four out of five people still cook their meals over open fires and traditional stoves, using polluting fuels like wood, charcoal, and animal dung. In 2022, about 3.2 million deaths worldwide were linked to household air pollution caused by cooking fuels and technologies.
Since women do most of the cooking, often with children in tow, they suffer the most exposure. In Africa, women and children account for 60 percent of early deaths related to smoke inhalation and indoor air pollution.
But the lack of clean-cooking facilities also hurts women and girls in other ways. Notably, because it takes time to gather the fuel – an estimated 1.5 hours per day for the average household – the women and girls who are usually responsible for........