Secretary Clinton Announces South Africa’s Partnership with Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
Local Cookstove Manufacturing Venture Also Recently Announced in Lesotho
Johannesburg, South Africa (August 8, 2012) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced yesterday that the Republic of South Africa has become the newest national partner of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, bringing country-level involvement in the initiative to 36 nations.
During a press conference Secretary Clinton said, “I welcome the decision by South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology to join the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a major public-private partnership that was launched two years ago to help 100 million households adopt clean cookstoves and fuels by 2020.”
The Republic of Malawi – where the Secretary also visited as part of an official trip throughout the continent focused on democracy, economic, peace, security, and development issues – recently joined the Alliance as well.
More than 70 percent of Africans burn solid fuels such as wood, charcoal, or crop residues for their home cooking needs. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that each year more than 577,000 Africans die from illnesses associated with exposure to cookstove smoke. Additionally, an estimated US $26 million is spent annually in South Africa alone for care of burns from kerosene (paraffin) cookstove incidents.
“Across multiple sectors, South Africa is a leader in Africa and we welcome them as our newest member nation to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves,” said Radha Muthiah, Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. “We look forward to working with South Africa to advance the manufacturing, sale, and adoption of clean, safe, and efficient cookstoves and fuels in their country and across the region.”
In other African cookstove sector news, Philips Electronics – the diversified healthcare, lighting, and consumer electronics company – and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) are partnering to jointly fund the manufacturing of cookstoves in Lesotho with Africa Clean Energy, an Alliance partner. The facility will produce some of the cleanest solid biomass cookstoves in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Media Contact:
Sean Bartlett | sbartlett@cleancookstoves.org | +1.202.419.6401
About the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves:
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is a public-private partnership led by the United Nations Foundation to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and combat climate change by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions. The Alliance’s 100 by ‘20 goal calls for 100 million households to adopt clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels by 2020. The Alliance is working with its public, private and non-profit partners to help overcome the market barriers that currently impede the production, deployment, and use of clean cookstoves in developing countries. Visit www.cleancookstoves.org for more information.