Issue
What are the problems that the Alliance seeks to address?
Exposure to smoke from traditional cookstoves and open fires—the primary means of cooking and heating for nearly three billion people in the developing world—causes 2 million premature deaths annually, with women and young children the most affected. Cookstove smoke contributes to a range of chronic illnesses and acute health impacts such as early childhood pneumonia, emphysema, cataracts, lung cancer, bronchitis, cardiovascular disease, and low birth weight. The World Health Organization estimates harmful cookstove smoke to be one of the top five threats to public health in poor, developing countries.
Reliance on biomass for cooking and heating increases pressures on local natural resources (e.g., forests, habitat) and forces women and children to spend many hours each week collecting wood. Women and girls also face severe personal security risks as they forage for fuel from refugee camps and in conflict zones. Inefficient cookstoves also contribute to climate change through emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, and aerosols such as black carbon.
