Media practitioners in Mombasa have been challenged to use the press in advocating for clean cooking techniques to cut on pollution and save forest cover.
Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Elly Odhiambo, from the Clean Cooking Association of Kenya (CCAK), said that there is need for the media to sensitise the public to eradicate the insidious threat of indoor air pollution caused by unclean cooking practices.
Odhiambo said that the way we cook is a contributor to climate change and a cause of preventable deaths.
He urged the media to help in enlightening the masses on the effects caused by climate change as they use unclean cooking practices.
Firewood and charcoal are classified as polluters by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Clean cooking fuels that are safe for the environment and household use include solar power, cooking gas (liquefied petroleum gas), biogas, and electricity from renewable sources like solar or wind.
The majority of people still consider a gas stove as luxury, let alone an elec
tric pressure cooker.
Odhiambo said women who take up a major role in cooking in many communities in the world, their perspective on the topic of clean cooking must be put into consideration.
The government has made strides to move everyone to embrace clean cooking, but at the same time it is expensive to people at the grassroots level.
‘It is easy for the media to change the perception of people on clean cooking for the country to achieve the universal goal of adopting clean cooking. There are so many different types of clean cooking solutions that people can afford at the village, but awareness is needed on the possession and adoption of clean cooking practices,’ he said.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, CCAK is set to hold the 5th Edition annual Clean Cooking Week event scheduled for the 21st to 25th October 2024 in Kajiado County.
Themed, ‘Strategy to Action: Partner, Invest, and Implement,’ the 5-day event aims at featuring insightful discussions, exhibitions, field visits
, and a high-level investment forum focused on unlocking funding, fostering partnerships, and driving the successful implementation of a significant strategy dubbed ‘Kenya National Clean Cooking Transition Strategy (KNCTS).
Odhiambo highlighted that the Strategy articulates the next steps that households across the Country can take in the journey towards universal access to Clean Cooking.
He further noted that it outlines the five key actions that the government will take to facilitate the journey towards ensuring efficient clean cooking, including bridging the supply gap for clean cooking solutions, bridging the affordability gap for the demand side.
He added that it will help in promoting local manufacturing and fuel production for local use and export, reframing, and raising awareness on the role of clean cooking, and instituting accountability, planning, and continuous tracking of progress.
‘The strategy focuses on clean cooking solutions at the point of use that play a critical role in transitioning
large segments of the population from unsustainably harvested and inefficiently burnt biomass, which offer long-term electric cooking, hence ensuring long-term sustainable pathways that leverage Kenya’s abundant renewable energy sources,’ said Odhiambo.
Additionally, he urged stakeholders in the clean energy sector to participate in the event by showcasing their various Clean Cooking Solutions ideas, including Air fryers, Electric Cookers, LPG gas, Solar Cookers, briquettes, and pellets, among others.
‘We invite all the stakeholders in this sector to join us for the Clean Cooking Week, as they will get a chance to showcase their different ideas on Clean Cooking solutions; hence, we urge them to register through our website to support this initiative,’ he said.
Lynn Ngatia, a Communication Officer from CCAK, explained that Clean Cooking Solutions are modern cooking equipment that fuels with low levels of greenhouse gas emissions when burnt and hence plays a critical role in mitigating Climate Change, especi
ally at the current times when Climate Change is highly impacting living conditions.
She added that the Clean Cooking Association of Kenya (CCAK) is a member-based group that aims to advocate for the growth of the clean cooking sector through influencing policies and regulatory frameworks, capacity building, stakeholder coordination, creating awareness of clean cooking, and impacting lives.
‘Through clean cooking, a person is likely to reduce health impacts, mitigate climate change, and improve livelihood as this concept includes equipment that has low emissions, hence are less hazardous to the people and the environment,’ said Ngatia.
The Kenya National Cooking Transition Strategy (KNCTS) articulates the next steps that households across Kenya can take in the journey towards universal access to clean cooking.
Source: Kenya News Agency