Against the backdrop of rising prices of cooking gas, the Ebonyi State on Monday launched a clean cooking initiative to benefit over 130 households in the rural communities in the state.
The event took place in Abakaliki, the state capital.
An organisation, International Centre for Energy, Environment, and Development (ICEED), at the event, said using wood in the traditional cooking method was causing serious health dangers for families especially women and children in the country.
The executive director of the organisation, Ewah Eleri, explained that the rising price of cooking gas and hard economic situation were pushing many families to use wood to cook which, according to him, was dangerous to the health of women and children in the families.
The launch of the clean cooking initiative, he said, seeks to bring the benefit of clean cooking to 130,000 households in the state.
“The rising price of cooking gas, the depletion of trees in the bushes, and hard economic situation are pushing more and more families to use wood in the traditional cooking method. This is causing serious health problems for families, especially for women and children. Not only that, but we also know that this excessive use of wood is contributing to environmental damages and climate change.
Read also: Gas producers squeezed after FG’s pricing intervention
“The programme launched today seeks to bring the benefit of clean cooking to 130,000 households in Ebonyi State. It seeks to create the production of clean cook stoves in all the 13 local governments in the state, creating at least 4,000 jobs in Ebonyi state”, he said.
Wife of the state governor, Rachael Umahi, represented by the chairman of the Association of Local Government Chairmen in the state, Nkechinyere Iyioku noted that the smoke from firewood from the kitchen kills about 95,000 people every year according to World Health Organization. She said most of the victims are women and children who live in rural areas.
“The development of affordable, reliable, and research-based clean cooking methods has become imperative. Through these methods, many lives will be saved, particularly those in our rural communities. The health of the people will also be guaranteed. Furthermore, the destruction of the ozone layer will reduce, while our environment will be protected”, she stated.
