Bottled gas for better life–cooking with LPG for better health

Hundreds of lower income families in Cameroon and Kenya now breathe cleaner air and have better health, thanks to a microfinance programme launched in 2017 by GLPGP together with local microfinance and banking institutions, and LPG marketers.`

The Bottled Gas For Better Life initiative addresses the challenge of upfront costs preventing many families from switching to LPG for cooking.

Shortterm microfinance loans of US$80-$100 are provided to families to purchase an LPG “start-up kit” including a double burner LPG stove, a filled LPG cylinder, and accessories.

Most programme participants had been using firewood as their main cooking fuel. Switching to LPG for everyday cooking eliminates smoke exposure in the kitchen, supporting better wellbeing and health, particularly for women and children.

The University of Liverpool, UK conducted an independent study of the programme’s pilot phase in Cameroon, evaluating the extent to which overcoming the upfront cost barrier encourages households to adopt LPG, and how this affects their use of time, well-being and health.

The study included HAP measurements in households before and after LPG adoption, primary cooks. PM2.5 is responsible for most of the disease related to HAP. LPG consumption by participants measured over six months was nearly five times Cameroon’s national average showing sustained LPG use after initial adoption. PM2.5 exposure levels decreased significantly. Exposure in primary cooks reached levels below the WHO’s indoor air pollution Interim Target-1 (35μg/m3), confirming LPG’s health protective role. Significant reductions in headaches (46% to 9%), eye problems (66% to 8%), cook burns (25% to 3%) and child burns (9% to 0%) were also observed after families adopted LPG through the loan programme. Over time, scaling up LPG use for clean cooking is expected to lower the mortality and disease rates attributed to household air pollution.