Publication: Improved Cookstoves and Better Health in Bangladesh: Lessons from Household Energy and Sanitation Programs
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2010-06
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2010-06
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The objective of this study is to identify lessons for improving cookstoves in Bangladesh through an evaluation of existing programs, the international experience on improved stoves, and the lessons from successes in the sanitation sector. Bangladesh's new renewable energy policy endorses creating a better environment for renewable energy technologies and promoting market development for improved cookstoves (Government of Bangladesh 2009). This study supports this policy direction by examining possible strategies to move forward the development of markets for improved stoves in Bangladesh. The study consists of several components: a national review of household energy programs; an evaluation of national sanitation programs; and an examination of improved cookstove programs from around the world, including China, Guatemala, Haiti, Mongolia, Nepal, and Uganda. The study is based on published literature, consultations with organizations throughout Bangladesh, site visits, and structured discussions with beneficiaries and other stakeholders.
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“World Bank. 2010. Improved Cookstoves and Better Health in Bangladesh: Lessons from Household Energy and Sanitation Programs. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27594 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Household Energy Access for Cooking and Heating : Lessons Learned and the Way Forward(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012)Half of humanity about 3 billion people are still relying on solid fuels for cooking and heating. Of that, about 2.5 billion people depend on traditional biomass fuels (wood, charcoal, agricultural waste, and animal dung), while about 400 million people use coal as their primary cooking and heating fuel (UNDP and WHO 2009). The majority of the population relying on solid fuels lives in Sub-Saharan Africa and in South Asia. In some countries in Central America and in East Asia and the Pacific, the use of solid fuels is also significant. The inefficient and unsustainable production and use of these fuels result in a significant public health hazard, as well as negative environmental impacts that keep people in poverty. Strategies to improve energy access to the poor have focused mainly on electricity access. 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Switching to modern energy alternatives would be the most effective way to achieve clean cooking and heating solutions and should be encouraged; yet such fuels are more expensive than solid fuels, requiring more costly stoves and delivery infrastructure. Effective strategies to scale up the dissemination of clean burning, fuel-efficient stoves for household cooking and heating can mitigate the health hazards associated with the burning of solid fuels. It is estimated that Household Air Pollution (HAP) from solid fuel use results in more than a million premature deaths each year in China. Scaled-up access to clean and efficient stoves is consistent with China's strategy to promote energy conservation, reduced carbon emissions, and green energy in villages. 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