The International Energy Agency has warned that the LPG crisis caused by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz is threatening Africa’s progress towards clean cooking, as soaring prices make the fuel increasingly unaffordable for many households and could heighten exposure to deadly household air pollution.

The warning comes as nearly two billion people globally continue to rely on wood, charcoal and other polluting fuels for cooking. According to the IEA’s latest clean cooking report, exposure to household air pollution from these fuels contributes to about 2.5 million premature deaths annually.

The agency said Africa accounts for half of the nearly two billion people worldwide who lack access to clean cooking. Although efforts to expand access have accelerated across the continent, progress remains too slow to keep pace with population growth.

“In Africa, physical supplies largely remained available, but sharply higher prices put LPG beyond the reach of many households, especially in markets without state-set fuel pricing like Nigeria and Uganda,” the IEA stated.

The development has significant implications for Nigeria, where LPG has increasingly become an alternative to firewood, charcoal and kerosene for household cooking. A prolonged rise in LPG prices could, however, push some low-income households back to more polluting cooking fuels.

The IEA said about 30 per cent of global seaborne LPG trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz, exposing the 3.4 billion people who depend on LPG as their primary cooking fuel to potential supply disruptions and price shocks.

The agency also noted that many countries have limited domestic LPG reserves to cushion the impact of the crisis. Fewer than 35 emerging and developing economies have sufficient operational and strategic storage to meet more than 30 days of domestic LPG demand.

The agency said the consequences of relying on traditional cooking methods extend beyond health, noting that households without access to clean cooking spend an average of four hours a day collecting firewood and cooking with inefficient stoves.

It said women and children bear the greatest burden, with limited access to clean cooking also affecting household productivity and children’s education.

“Nearly two billion people still cook using wood, charcoal and other fuels that produce harmful smoke, with dire implications for health, development, and the environment,” the IEA noted.

Despite the challenges, the IEA said Africa was making faster progress in expanding access to clean cooking.

As of 2024, 23 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa had access to clean cooking, representing an increase of nearly one percentage point from the previous year. Nearly 12 million people gained access to clean cooking solutions in 2024, up from about four million in 2010.

However, population growth continued to outpace these gains, with the number of people without access to clean cooking rising by around 14 million in 2024.

LPG remains the dominant clean cooking fuel in Africa, accounting for more than 70 per cent of people with access and making up the vast majority of new connections recorded in 2024.