Zambia, like many African countries, is facing a crisis over clean cooking fuel. Over 80% of the population still relies on polluting fuels like charcoal and firewood. This exposes families to toxic indoor air, deepens poverty and gender inequality, drives deforestation, and adds to climate change.
Globally, air pollution from cooking using fuelwood, coal and dung contributes to over 3.2 million premature deaths each year, including 237,000 children under five.
In Zambia, having electricity at home does not automatically lead to cleaner cooking. In the global south, electricity only starts to support clean cooking once national access rates exceed 80%. In Zambia, only around 50% of people have access to electricity. Frequent power cuts and high residential tariffs make cooking with electricity either unreliable or unaffordable.
