February 21, 2024 – In sub-Saharan Africa, cooking indoors with air-polluting fuels may increase the risk of cancer and lung disease, especially for women and children, say experts. .
According to a Feb. 9 Cancerworld article, women inhale unhealthy fumes when cooking indoors with biomass fuels such as wood, charcoal, and kerosene. If you are pregnant, your unborn child will also be exposed to smoke. Exposure is associated with an increased risk of esophageal and stomach cancer, as well as lung diseases such as pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
To reduce the impact of unhealthy fuels, governments need to increase the affordability and availability of cleaner fuels such as electricity and ethanol, said Matt Spler, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who was quoted in the article. He said there is a need to make it easier.
Spler noted that policies should also aim to reduce outdoor air pollution. “Providing households with clean cooking fuel may not in itself lead to meaningful health benefits if they are exposed to high levels of PM2.5 when spending time outdoors,” he said. Ta.
Read the Cancerworld article: It’s not just the climate: reducing cancer rates through cleaner cooking fuels in Africa
Photo: iStock/Josep Maria Valles
