At the recently held Clean Cooking Summit in Paris in 2024, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the seven-decade-old African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, reiterated the pressing need for clean cooking solutions in Africa. Highlighting an alarming situation, Adesina referred to a statistic of 900 million African people who are bereft of clean cooking facilities, leading to a surge in premature deaths due to indoor pollution.
Adesina acknowledged the dual issue of clean cooking as a key concern in both gender and climate spheres. He pointed out that the lion’s share of the burden is borne by women, while the continued use of traditional cookstoves works to the detriment of our environment.
In a concerted effort to address this problem, Akinwumi Adesina announced the AfDB’s plans for substantial investment in clean cooking solutions. The bank has set an ambitious target to facilitate access to clean cooking solutions for a whopping 250 million people across Africa by the end of this decade.
Adesina believes that such a transition would reduce health and gender inequities whilst simultaneously making a significant contribution to climate change mitigation efforts. He affirmed, “By catalyzing a shift to clean energy in households across Africa, we’re working to tackle multiple issues at once. From health and gender disparities to the crucial matter of climate change; the move towards clean cooking solutions can be a game-changer.”
Concluding his address, the AfDB President urged the public and private sectors to rise to the occasion and consider investing in clean cooking solutions, thereby creating a larger impact. He noted, “This multi-dimensional issue requires a combined effort. By investing in alternative, clean cooking technologies, we chart a course for a healthier, more equitable, and climate-resilient Africa.”
With these concerted efforts, Adesina and the AfDB are unarguably ensuring that the path to sustainable growth in Africa goes through the door of every kitchen in the continent.
