The President of the African Development Bank, Akinwunmi Adesina, revealed that around 600,000 women and children die annually in Africa due to the lack of access to clean cooking sources.
He made this statement during the Africa Energy Summit, currently underway in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The summit, themed “Mission 300,” is a joint effort by the African Development Bank, the World Bank Group, and other global partners to address Africa’s electricity access gap through innovative financing and new technology.
Hosted by the Government of Tanzania, the summit aims to find solutions for the continent’s energy challenges.
Speaking during a panel discussion with representatives from the Rockefeller Foundation and the World Bank, Adesina explained that the use of firewood and charcoal for cooking results in smoke that causes the deaths of 300,000 women and 300,000 children every year.
He described the deaths as a tragic result of inadequate access to clean cooking solutions, highlighting that more than 1.2 million African women lack such access.
“Another thing that is part of the agenda is access to clean cooking for women. Today we have 1.2 million women in Africa without access to clean cooking and we lose 300,000 kids every single year that their mothers carry on their backs because of lack of access to clean food because of the secondary effect of smoke. We lose 300,000 women also every year,” he said.
Adesina lamented the unnecessary loss of lives caused by unsafe cooking methods and called for immediate action.
“Why should anybody have to die just for trying to cook a decent meal that is taken for granted in other parts of the world? That is not acceptable! In good conscience, we just can’t do that.
“And that’s why a big part of what we’re trying to do is to make sure that women in Africa can cook decently without having to smoke; without their kids having to die because of that,” he stated.
The AfDB president revealed that achieving universal access to clean cooking in Africa requires $4 billion in annual funding, with the African Development Bank pledging $2 billion towards this goal.
He highlighted commitments from countries like Tanzania, Nigeria, and Ghana to achieve 100 per cent access to clean cooking solutions by 2030.
Adesina emphasized that this initiative goes beyond energy transition, stressing that it is about saving lives and preserving dignity.
The President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga expressed optimism about the initiative, calling its objectives achievable with the right approach.
He emphasized the need to create a favorable environment for private sector participation by ensuring predictable currencies, stable regulatory frameworks, and efficient land acquisition processes.
The President of the Rockefeller Foundation, Rajiv Shah also urged global philanthropists to support the initiative, pledging $65 million to the program.
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, emphasized the transformative impact of energy access on rural communities.
She highlighted its potential to drive change through digital financial services, online education, and e-commerce, especially for women and youth.
