Implication of energy poverty on health & environment

Harmful Effects of Current Cooking Fuels and Technologies

Health
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.5 million premature deaths per year are directly attributable to indoor air pollution from the use of solid fuels. That is more than 4 000 deaths per day, more than half of them children under five years of age. More than 85% of these deaths (about 1.3 million) are due to biomass use, the rest due to coal. This means that indoor air pollution associated with biomass use is directly responsible for more deaths than malaria, almost as many as tuberculosis and almost half as many as HIV/AIDS (Figure 6).

In developing countries, only malnutrition, unprotected sex, lack of clean water and sanitation were greater health threats. Just as the extent of dependence on polluting fuels and inefficient stoves varies widely around the world, so does the death toll due to indoor smoke. The number of premature deaths is highest in southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (Figure 7).

There are specific targets associated with each of the eight Millennium Development Goals. For each target, several indicators have been established to assess progress in achieving the goals. The WHO is responsible for Indicator 29 (Goal 7) – the proportion of the population using solid fuels. This category includes coal and biomass resources. In this chapter, the targets and projections consider biomass only.

Figure 6: Annual Deaths Worldwide by Cause

Source: IEA estimate based on WHO figure for all solid fuels. Source: WHO Statistical Information System, available at www.who.int/whosis.

Figure 7
Deaths per Year Caused by Indoor Air Pollution, by WHO Region

Source: WHO 2006

Note: Countries are grouped according to WHO regions. Deaths include those, mainly in China, attributable to the use of coal.

Smith et al. (2000) showed that fuelwood, roots, agricultural residues and animal dung all produce high emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and particulate matter. Hydrocarbon emissions are highest from the burning of dung for fuel, while particulate emissions are highest from agricultural residues. Women and children suffer most from indoor air pollution because they are traditionally responsible for cooking and other household chores, which involve spending hours by the cooking fire exposed to smoke.

Young children are particularly susceptible to disease, which accounts for the predominance of young children in the statistics for premature deaths due to the use of biomass for cooking. The effects of exposure to indoor air pollution depend on the source of pollution (fuel and stove type), how pollution is dispersed (housing and ventilation) and how much of their time household members spend indoors. The type of fuel used and individuals’ participation in food preparation have consistently been the most important indicators. The prevalence of indoor air pollution is significantly higher where income is below $1 per day per capita (WHO, 2004).

As well as being much more dependent on biomass, poor households rely on low-quality cooking equipment and live in unventilated housing, exacerbating the negative health impact, as there is incomplete combustion and non-dissipation of smoke. It is estimated that indoor smoke from solid fuels causes about 36% of lower respiratory infections and 22% of chronic respiratory disease.

A child exposed to indoor air pollution is two to three times more likely to catch pneumonia, which is one of the world's leading killers of young children. In addition, there is evidence to link indoor smoke to low birth weight, infant mortality, tuberculosis, cataracts and asthma. As well as direct effects on health, indoor air pollution worsens the suffering and shortens the lives of those with both communicable diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and chronic diseases, notably cardiovascular diseases and chronic respiratory diseases, which are by far the world’s worst killers. Four out of five deaths due to chronic diseases are in low- and middle-income countries (WHO, 2005).