The International Energy Agency (IEA) has raised the alarm over the continued use of open-fire cooking by nearly one billion Africans, calling it a health and environmental crisis that rivals the global aviation industry in greenhouse‑gas emissions.
In its latest report, the agency reveals that four out of every five households in Africa still rely on open fires or rudimentary stoves fuelled by wood, charcoal, or agricultural waste, and that this reliance causes at least 815,000 premature deaths annually due to indoor air pollution.
To chart a path forward, the report introduces the Accelerating Clean Cooking and Electricity Services Scenario (ACCESS). ACCESS shows how African countries can replicate the most successful global examples of clean‑cooking adoption and includes the first comprehensive mapping of clean cooking infrastructure across Africa, along with a regional analysis of fuel availability and affordability.