World Humanitarian Summit: Making the Case for Cookstoves and Energy Access
On May 23-24, the United Nations will host the first ever World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) in Istanbul. The Summit is expected to host more than 5,000 participants working to find better ways of meeting the needs of millions of people affected by conflicts and disasters. The Alliance will be playing multiple roles at the Summit, which provides an ideal opportunity to advocate for the importance of clean cooking and energy access for people living in humanitarian settings.
At an official WHS Side Event on May 24, the Alliance will join partners to co-host and participate in a panel discussion on how energy access can transform the lives of those most at risk of being left behind. Speakers from the governments of Canada, the Netherlands, the UAE, and the UK will join representatives from the United Nations, World Food Programme, and others to discuss how energy access is a critical, life-saving component of humanitarian response.
As a Co-Chair of the SAFE Humanitarian Working Group, the Alliance will also be joining the UN World Food Programme and the UN Food and Agriculture Association to promote the recently-launched communications campaign #EnergyMatters, which aims to raise awareness about the importance of energy access in humanitarian response, and build support for it to be included as a key topic of discussion before and during the World Humanitarian Summit.
Whether through improved cookstoves, clean-burning fuel, or solar lighting, energy access is a critical, life-saving component of humanitarian response. It impacts nearly every aspect of humanitarian aid, including food security, health, protection, livelihoods, and the environment. Energy technologies and alternative fuels can help bridge the humanitarian-development divide by improving these areas in ways that are cost-effective and sustainable.
With this in mind, the Alliance encourages you to add your voice to the thousands of others advocating for important issues in humanitarian response at WHS. Follow @SafeFuelEnergy on Twitter and download the campaign’s Social Media Toolkit to help spread the word that energy matters for the nearly 60 million displaced women, men, boys and girls living in humanitarian settings around the world. And of course, follow the Alliance on Twitter @cookstoves where we will be highlighting cooking in humanitarian settings during the next several weeks.
In addition, the Alliance and the SAFE Humanitarian Working Group will have booths set up in two areas of the Lutfi Kirdar Convention & Exhibition Center during the Summit, where attendees can learn more about this critical issues, as well as see firsthand some of the latest examples of clean cooking technology and energy products being used in humanitarian settings.
To learn more, please email info@safefuelandenergy.org.