Asia Clean Energy Forum – Manila
June 15-19, Asian Development Bank’s Asia Clean Energy Forum – Alliance Presentation on Humanitarian Energy Access, in Manila
More than 51.2 million people are displaced from their homes due to conflict, war, and disaster. Most of the food provided by humanitarian agencies must be cooked before it can be eaten, but cookstoves and fuel are rarely provided. As a result, women and children must risk their safety, health, and sometimes their lives, to search for and collect firewood in order to cook food over smoky, polluting open fires. In many cases, displaced women walk for hours to find firewood and carry heavy loads back to camp, which puts them at risk for physical and sexual attack.
To address these issues, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is working in partnership with UNHCR to develop technical specifications for cookstoves that are procured in bulk by the agency and distributed in emergencies. By improving and standardizing the quality of these cookstoves, UNHCR will be able to provide better quality goods to the refugees it serves, in turn improving their health, safety, and quality of life.