The exposure to smoke from traditional cookstoves and open fires is the primary means of cooking and heating for nearly three billion people in developing countries. Unfortunately this exposure to smoke causes four million premature deaths annually, with women and young children the most affected. Reliance on biomass for cooking and heating forces women and children to spend hours each week collecting wood. Women face severe personal security risks as they search also increase pressures on local natural resources (e.g., forests, habitat) and contribute to climate change at the regional and global level.

In the latest Global Burden of Disease Study there are now four million premature deaths caused by illnesses and injuries associated with household air pollution. This doubling of the previously estimated mortality figures sent shockwaves through the clean cooking sector and the development community alike. Only high blood pressure, alcohol, and tobacco claim more lives worldwide.

The use of clean cookstoves and fuels can dramatically reduce fuel consumption and exposure to cookstove smoke. OPAT currently distributes these high efficiency cook stoves at $85 each providing years of clean cooking for a family and community.

We are also currently exploring a less expensive, more efficient stove. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

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