An all too common tragedy
Most Kenyans could tell you a story of a relative, friend, or acquaintance who has died from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. In our new documentary film, published on the occasion of the historic International Energy Agency Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa, Colonel Susan Mutua from the Kenyan Ministry of Health recounts her own story of one such tragic incident.
Colonel Susan Mutua, Acting Deputy Director of Public Health, Kenya Ministry of Health
Imagine the scene. It’s late evening, and a young woman, pregnant with her second child, is preparing a meal of beans and maize (githeri) for her husband to take with him when he leaves home very early next day for work. Like many Kenyans in urban areas, she is cooking the food on charcoal. The family goes to sleep, unaware of the danger.
During the night, the man wakes, and feeling very drowsy, he checks on his wife and young son. He cannot wake his wife, and the boy is also unusually sleepy. He goes outside to call for help from neighbours, but it’s too late for his wife and unborn child, they are both dead. Fortunately, the man and his young son recover.
The hidden burden of carbon monoxide poisoning in Africa
A charcoal jiko (stove) can emit high levels of carbon monoxide (CO), a gas which is dangerous because users cannot see, smell, or taste it
This true story is just one of over 400 fatal cases of CO poisoning that occur in Kenya each year, and one of more than 6,000 annually across Sub-Saharan Africa. These deaths are unnecessary and could so easily be prevented. That’s the real tragedy. Through lack of cleaner, more efficient alternatives fuels, households are having to use charcoal, unaware of the risks of poisoning and death, especially in homes that are inadequately ventilated.
In the film, co-produced by the CLEAN-Air (Africa) team at the University of Liverpool and Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Nairobi, we examine the hidden burden of deaths and ill health resulting from exposure to CO from charcoal and other solid fuels in African homes. We then look at how a newly developed training programme for community health promoters across Kenya offers an effective way to support households in switching to clean fuels, and reducing risks through behaviour change.
Nancy Chebichii, Health Systems Strengthening Co-ordinator for CLEAN-Air (Africa), based at KEMRI, Nairobi
African homes need clean energy
Narrated by Nancy Chebichii, Health Systems Strengthening Coordinator from the CAA team at KEMRI, the film documents levels of CO in homes using charcoal stoves, the health impacts, and how these deaths and risks can be avoided.
The bottom line is an urgent need to switch away from solid fuels to clean energy as soon as this is practical and affordable. In the meantime, there is much that can be done by raising awareness of the dangers from use of solid fuels in the home.
Prevention through training of Community Health Promoters
Community health worker training on household air pollution – group discussion
And this is where the community health promoters (CHPs) have such an important role to play. In response to data from the Global Burden of Disease Project showing that around 23,000 Kenyans die prematurely each year from household air pollution exposure, The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the University of Liverpool, developed a training programme focused on this problem.
Supported by a set of field-tested Job Aids, the training prepares CHPs to discuss energy use in the home, the health risks from the use of solid fuels (including CO poisoning), and how these risks can be avoided by behaviour change (e.g. improving ventilation), and adopting clean household energy (e.g. LPG, electricity, ethanol, and biogas).
A case study in the video provides a powerful illustration of just how effective trained CHPs can be as a force for change within their communities.
An international focus on clean household energy for Africa
A Kenyan woman cooking ugali (maize porridge) on a single burner (meko) LPG stove
The International Energy Agency has identified transition to clean, efficient, and sustainable energy as a top priority for Sub-Saharan Africa. On 14th May 2024, the Agency convened global leaders for a Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa to make 2024 a turning point for progress on ensuring clean cooking access for all. This has the potential to prevent up to 700,000 premature deaths each year, and bring substantial other benefits in terms of economic development, gender equity, and environmental protection.
CLEAN-Air (Africa) is committed to a research programme designed to support African governments in making this transition, and achieving the SDG-7 goal of ‘Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all’, as rapidly as possible.
