By Jude Njoku

Succour may be in the offing for millions of Nigerian families struggling to have access to affordable cooking fuels as a partnership of key federal government agencies, the private sector and donors have laid out plans to phase out the traditional use of fuel wood in Nigerian homes.

As a first step towards its actualisation, the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cookstoves – a public-private partnership to reach 10 million Nigerian families with clean cook stoves, will today be launched  in Abuja.

The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is a public-private partnership to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and combat climate change by creating a thriving market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions.

Cooking Gas

Speaking on the launch, the Director of the International Centre for Energy, Environment & Development, ICEED, Mr. Ewah Otu Eleri explained that  “Nigeria will be the first African country to launch a public-private-partnership to address the health, poverty and environmental problems caused by the traditional use of wood fuel”.

Smoke from wood fuel is said to be the cause of  over 95,000 deaths in Nigeria annually. “The country experiences the highest number of smoke-related deaths in Africa; after Malaria and HIV/AIDS, it is the biggest killer of mostly women and children.

For the 112 million Nigerians living in poverty, traditional cooking method is expensive, and costs poor families money that could be put to better use on education, health and nutrition.

Traditional cooking with millions of open fire and resulting deforestation also contribute to emission of harmful greenhouse gases that cause climate change,” Mr Eleri said.

The Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, he said, will launch a national campaign to introduce 10 million fuel-efficient stoves to Nigerian homes and institutions by 2020.

The Alliance supports policy change, better technical standards and innovative financing in the development of a national clean cookstove industry. It works with public, private, and non-profit partners to scale up access to clean cookstoves in Nigeria.

The launch of the Alliance is expected to bring together the Ministers of Women Affairs, Health and Environment.

According to Eleri, the launch will be observed by foreign dignitaries such as the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Terrence Macaulay and Norwegian Minister of State for International Development, Ingrid Fiskaa.

The partnership will work with the government and companies to ensure access to cooking gas for poor families. It will also work to promote new and efficient wood stoves that saves time and money for families.

Head of the Renewable Energy Programme of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Bahijjatu Abubakar an Engineer, said  “the Government is committed to affordable access to clean cookstoves for all Nigerian families. In the next few years, we will roll out millions of these stoves to both urban and rural households. This is important in saving our environment and empowering our women”.

The Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, Ms Radha Muthiah will deliver the keynote address at the  launch.