About
Nearly three billion people around the world use traditional cookstoves and fuels. According to the World Health Organization, the resulting air pollution leads to an estimated four million preventable deaths per year. In Ghana, about 70 percent of households cook by burning biomass including wood, charcoal, and crop residue in open fires. Despite significant public and private investment over the last decade in efforts to encourage the use of clean cookstoves, new approaches are needed to achieve substantial improvements in air quality and health.
Focused on a region in Ghana with nearly 30,000 people, the hope of this project is to dramatically and measurably improve public health and contribute to women’s empowerment, economic development, and better environmental quality. If successful, this effort could provide lessons that can be applied throughout Ghana and the rest of Africa.