Fueling Sustainable Development for Women and Girls with Clean Cookstoves

[niyad]

Fueling Sustainable Development for Women and Girls with Clean Cookstoves





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As the global development community prioritizes a broad range of interventions to ensure that women and girls are able to thrive, they cannot forget about how access to energy drastically impacts the lives of women and girls. It may seem obvious, but every person everywhere needs to eat cooked food and when families do not have access to clean cookstoves and fuels, it is women and girls who suffer most.

There are dire health, environmental, and socio-economic consequences for the nearly 3 billion people who rely on biomass for cooking and breath in toxic cooking smoke. This daily exposure is one of the world’s biggest killers, particularly for girls and women in the developing world – 4.3 million people die prematurely each year. Additionally, access to clean cooking solutions can significantly reduce time poverty for women and girls who spend many hours each day collecting fuel and cooking. With this freed time, they can pursue education, income generation, or social opportunities.

The situation is even worse for crisis-affected women who sometimes walk for hours to find firewood, which increases their vulnerability to gender-based violence and physical injuries. And, as the world continues to see the impacts from climate change, women and girls are forced to walk even further to collect fuel or use even more toxic fuels, such as trash.

While women benefit significantly from access to household energy, they are also central to the success of clean cooking interventions. They can catalyze the market as clean energy entrepreneurs and lead efforts that develop effective and sustainable solutions. They are not just victims—they are change agents whose involvement will determine the realization of the goal to achieve sustainable energy for all.

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http://msmagazine.com/blog/2016/05/20/fueling-sustainable-development-for-women-and-girls-with-clean-cookstoves/