By Faridat Salifu
Speaking at the recently concluded Ebonyi State Clean Cooking Forum, the wife of the Governor of Ebonyi State, Mrs. Mary-Maudline Uzoamaka Nwifuru, expressed concern over the escalating costs of cooking fuel and the adverse health effects on women due to the growing reliance on fuelwood for cooking.
By promoting cleaner and more sustainable cooking alternatives, she aims to improve the well-being and livelihoods of women in the state. This proactive approach demonstrates her dedication to creating a healthier and more equitable environment for all.
In response to these challenges, Mrs. Nwifuru has pledged to collaborate with various branches of the Ebonyi State Government and local government chairmen to ensure that rural women have access to efficient wood and charcoal cookstoves.
Dr. Stephen Odo, the Director General of the Ebonyi State Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (EBSMEDA), underscored the importance of local production of these efficient wood stoves.
He committed the agency to not only addressing the cooking energy problems in households but also to training young people in the construction of these technologies, fostering small and medium-sized enterprises, creating new jobs, and exporting clean cookstoves to other states.
Ewah Eleri, the Executive Director of the International Centre for Energy, Environment and Development (ICEED) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cooking, highlighted that 86% of households in Ebonyi State use wood in open fires for cooking, leading to serious implications for the economy and the health of families due to deforestation and reliance on inefficient cooking methods.
The forum, organized by ICEED in partnership with the Office of the Governor’s Wife and the Ebonyi State Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, aimed to bring together key stakeholders and committed to implementing the Ebonyi State Clean Cooking Programme and scaling-up awareness and sensitization on clean cooking in the state.
The event also highlighted the collaboration between the German Foundation and the Ebonyi State Government in developing a state-level program on clean cooking.
Dr. Iniobong Abiola-Awe, from the Federal Ministry of Environment, emphasized the importance of implementing the national policy on clean cooking at the state level to reduce carbon emissions and the use of inefficient cooking fuels.
In her address, Dr. Abiola-Awe stressed the significance of a joint collaborative effort with states to ensure that Nigerian households transition from the use of inefficient cooking fuels to more sustainable alternatives, aligning with the country’s climate change obligations and commitments.
