Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has called for a generous replenishment of the African Development Fund that includes USD 12 billion for clean cooking to unlock financing for achieving the ambitious goal of clean cooking for all by 2030.
“Insufficient funding and a lack of awareness about the economic opportunities within the clean cooking industry hamper efforts to scale interventions. Moreover, development of the needed solutions is limited by insufficient research and innovation,” President Samia said.
She made the remarks today in her speech at the Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa held at UNESCO headquarters in the French capital, Paris.
The summit for global leaders co-hosted by the Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) seeks to make 2024 a turning point for progress on ensuring clean cooking access for all.
“Over 900 million Africans rely on unclean cooking solutions, a fact which contributes to environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, and related health hazards,” she said, adding that increased access to clean cooking energy will help women participate in other economic activities, reduce poverty, and promote gender equality.
President Samia is co-chair of the summit and champion of clean cooking energy not only in Tanzania but also in Africa and globally.
She noted that clean cooking access rates globally currently range from over 60% in Central and Southern Asia to over 80% in Eastern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. On the contrary, Africa, the continent with the highest population growth rates, and with all necessary natural resources, ranks the least in access to clean cooking, she said.
President Samia cited three major challenges facing clean cooking in Africa, including the lack of access to adequate, affordable and sustainable solutions, lack of global attention to the problem, and the absence of smart partnerships to ensure clean cooking access for all.
“Amidst these challenges, central to Tanzania’s own commitment is delivering on our recently-launched ten-year Clean Cooking National Strategy, which aims to ensure that 80% of Tanzanians use clean cooking solutions by 2034,” she said.
Tanzania will also establish a National Fund to support clean cooking and the Prime Minister will provide high-level oversight of implementation of the strategy, she pledged.
“Given the disproportionate burden faced by women, Tanzania will continue to advocate for the African Women Clean Cooking Support Program (AWCCSP) to not only address the environmental and health impacts, but also, empower women as agents of change within their communities,” she said.
President Samia urged world leaders to make clean cooking a priority agenda for Africa as a just energy transition that can positively impact the people, the planet and the environment.
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