Ebonyi Governor’s Wife Addresses Cooking Fuel Challenges
Mary-Maudline Uzoamaka Nwifuru, the wife of Ebonyi State Governor, expressed concern over the escalating cost of cooking fuel and its adverse effects on women’s health due to the reliance on fuelwood. She voiced these concerns during the Ebonyi State Clean Cooking Forum, organized by the International Centre for Energy, Environment and Development (ICEED) in collaboration with her office and the Ebonyi State EBSMEDA.
She pledged to collaborate with various branches of the Ebonyi State Government and Local Government Chairmen to provide rural women access to efficient wood and charcoal cook stoves, aiming to alleviate the cooking fuel challenges faced by women.
Dr. Stephen Odo, the Director General of Ebonyi State Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (EBSMEDA), highlighted the importance of local production of efficient wood stoves in the state. The agency aims not only to address household cooking energy issues but also to train youths in constructing these efficient cooking technologies, create job opportunities, and export clean cook stoves to other states.
The Executive Director of ICEED and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cooking, Ewah Eleri, emphasized that 86% of households in Ebonyi State use wood in open fire cooking, resulting in deforestation and health implications.
The German Foundation, Heinrich Boell Foundation, partnered with the Ebonyi State Government to develop a state-level program on clean cooking, focusing on commitments beyond verbal pledges to make tangible differences in people’s lives.
