- The world is breathing unclean air.
- Mothers who cook with clean energy sources during pregnancy have healthier babies.
- Most women who use firewood as a source of energy for cooking experience eye problems.
- National government should make clean energy affordable to all.
Nearly 99% of the world’s population breathes air that is dangerous to their health and exceeds WHO air quality regulations, according to a report the World Health Organization (WHO) released a year ago in the run-up to World Health Day.
In addition, it stated that 3.8 million people died from inhaling domestic smoke from burning fuel and stoves over time, and 4.2 million died from exposure to outdoor air pollution.
In a study by The Oman Petroleum and Energy Show, 2020 edition, specialists claim that cooking with firewood and kerosene might have significant impacts, such as stillbirths among women, low birth weight, and lack of essential cognitive development.
The study went on to explain that mothers who cook with clean energy sources during pregnancy have healthier babies who weigh more than those who use kerosene and other dirty energy sources.
Because they must now rely on better diets and supplements to offset the irreversible consequences of breathing air from burning charcoal and firewood, it further boosts living expenses for women who can’t afford clean energy.
The majority of reports clearly show that toxic gases released during home firewood burning have a negative impact on human health.
Especially when it comes to the impacts of excessive firewood burning, women and children in a home are more susceptible to these gases’ negative effects on their health.
Where it started
All living things need food to survive; however, the majority of people only eat cooked food that has been either prepared with fire or electricity.
Many Kenyans adhere to the belief that “cooking is a basic skill and shouldn’t be defined by gender”; thus, we cook and eat.
According to the Clean Cooking Association of Kenya (CCAK), 6.2 million Kenyan homes only use one type of cooking, and of them, 80% only use charcoal or fuelwood.
To present a clear image to diverse stakeholders and government bodies trying to rid Kenya of dirty fuel kitchens, CCAK conducted an extensive study on the source of fuel energy used by Kenyans in 2020.
About 71% of Kenyans, according to the CCAK survey, and 92% of rural residents rely on firewood as their primary or secondary cookstove.
More and more households are using inexpensive, dirty energy sources to cook their meals as a result of the recent increase in the price of petroleum.
Kerosene and charcoal use is steadily increasing among those living in crowded cities.
According to the WHO, of the 550,000 acute respiratory infections that cause mortality each year in Sub-Saharan Africa, cooking smoke causes roughly one-third of this number.
Concerns among girls and women, who are mostly responsible for cooking in households, are on the rise as more and more people get exposed due to lack of the necessary expertise to take care of themselves.
In Kenya, 7 out of 10 kitchens still use either charcoal or firewood, with overreliance predominating in rural regions where these resources are plentiful.
Less than 1% of Kenyan households employ alternative clean energy sources such as briquettes, biogas, pellets, solar cookers, and ethanol stoves, which are uncommon in the country.
Three-stone cooking was the primary method of cooking in 76% of Kenyan households in 1999; this number fell to 58% by 2019.
More than half of Kenyan homes continue to practice this historical cooking master custom.
In many Kenyan homes, particularly those of rural residents, three-stone cooking is still common.
Matisi ward atonement
Trans Nzoia’s Matisi ward can finally breathe a sigh of relief as 700 gas cookers have been distributed to women in this ward by their Member of County Assembly (MCA), Mwale Mahanga.
The politician is working to eliminate dirty kitchens in his ward as part of his “Ondoa Moshi” initiative because he wants to upgrade every house there.
In his message, he gave the residents the reassurance that the distribution of the first batch was not the end and that he intended to keep doing so until there were no more dirty kitchens in the ward.
“In the Spirit of fulfilling my promises to the great women of Matisi Ward, I have today issued 700 gas cookers to women across the ward.
Ondoa Moshi initiative will ensure that each household within Matisi is modernized,” the MCA stated.
The women, who were the immediate recipients of this donation, as well as many other families, were more than pleased with it.
The MCA accomplished this by eliminating all reliance on wood fuel to better women’s lives.
This is just one of the promises he made during his campaign to launch an initiative that would empower many local homesteads and ease the strain of relying on firewood as a source of energy for cooking.
Feedback and comments
Despite the expanding economy that has forced many people to rely on dirty energy sources, the politician’s noble action has caused social media, particularly Twitter, to go viral.
Users have flooded the platform with praise for the politician.
One Twitter user (@njerugatere) commented, “This will go a long way in environmental conservation and saving the women from respiratory diseases coz of inhaling smoke daily. Kudos mhesh.”
Another one (@officiallljeff) added, “It will also protect nature by reducing emissions from the luminous flames.”
How women are affected
The burning of firewood releases chemicals, including acetic acid, acrolein, and formaldehyde, which can irritate the eyes.
Most women who use firewood as a source of energy for cooking experience eye problems.
Carbon monoxide is released while burning firewood, and when breathed in, it can trigger serious headaches by reducing the amount of oxygen reaching the brain.
Lung cancer is more common among heavy cigarette smokers, but women who use firewood for cooking at home inhale about 100 cigarettes’ worth of smoke per cooking session.
Mothers who spend a lot of time cooking inside are in danger of acquiring lung cancer from long-term exposure to the hazardous aromatic compounds found in hardwood smoke, including anthracene and benzopyrene.
On and off coughing is a common symptom among women who cook with firewood.
The deadliest air pollutant, black smoke, which is made up of tiny carbon particles, absorbs into the air sac, which causes this to occur.
In order to get rid of the larger particles, the lungs naturally have a tendency to cough them up, but the most poisonous particles—the tiny ones that are invisible to the human eye—are absorbed even further and can seriously harm the lung’s protective alveolar lining.
Serious lining damage can lead to cancer and make it easier for cancer cells to spread throughout the body.
One is more susceptible to illnesses like bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders (COPD) when they have damaged lungs because they are more prone to bacterial and viral attacks on the lining tissues.
What steps to take
Even though Matisi Ward MCA has offered to assist 700 households and plans to protect his ward residents from the severe effects of firewood smoke by offering more help, households that do not use clean energy need proper guidance on how to cook using unclean energy and how to take the necessary precautions.
By dispersing the pollutants more effectively than an enclosed kitchen design, using an outdoor and open-plan kitchen can help reduce the dangers of smoke.
The national government has the responsibility of making clean energy affordable for more Kenyans to afford it, protecting them from the danger of smoke.
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The correct ventilation of kitchens is also essential in reducing smoke concentrations and inhalation by those cooking.
