Household air pollution programme
The use of solid fuels for cooking is a public health problem in Africa and the main environmental risk, affecting over 100 million people.
It is estimated that there are million deaths in Africa as a result of the use of solid fuels (SFU) for cooking and heating, and more than 12.5 million years of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).
The Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality —Household fuel combustion warns of the danger of SFU and set goals to reduce emissions of harmful pollutants to health from open fires, stoves and lamps for domestic use. In its recommendations, the need to improve access of households to cleaner energy sources such as liquefied petroleum gas, biogas, natural gas and electricity is underlined. The recommendations focus on reducing emissions of pollutants as much as possible and on the importance of proper ventilation, recognizing the need for intermediate measures adapted to rural and lower income households that depend on solid fuels.
AHO has set in its 2020-2030 strategic plan the goal of reducing by 10% the percentage of the population dependent on solid fuels for cooking in countries with 15% or more of SFU in the population.