IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i16p5874-d398442.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Drivers of the Adoption and Exclusive Use of Clean Fuel for Cooking in Sub-Saharan Africa: Learnings and Policy Considerations from Cameroon

Author

Listed:
  • Alison Pye

    (Public Health England North West, Preston PR1 0LD, UK)

  • Sara Ronzi

    (Department of Public Health and Policy and Systems, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GB, UK
    Department of Health Services Research and Policy, Faculty of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1H 9SH, UK)

  • Bertrand Hugo Mbatchou Ngahane

    (Douala General Hospital, Douala 3554, Cameroon)

  • Elisa Puzzolo

    (Department of Public Health and Policy and Systems, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GB, UK
    Global LPG Partnership, New York, NY 10065, USA)

  • Atongno Humphrey Ashu

    (Douala General Hospital, Douala 3554, Cameroon)

  • Daniel Pope

    (Department of Public Health and Policy and Systems, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GB, UK)

Abstract

Household air pollution (HAP) caused by the combustion of solid fuels for cooking and heating is responsible for almost 5% of the global burden of disease. In response, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended the urgent need to scale the adoption of clean fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). To understand the drivers of the adoption and exclusive use of LPG for cooking, we analysed representative survey data from 3343 peri-urban and rural households in Southwest Cameroon. Surveys used standardised tools to collect information on fuel use, socio-demographic and household characteristics and use of LPG for clean cooking. Most households reported LPG to be clean (95%) and efficient (88%), but many also perceived it to be expensive (69%) and unsafe (64%). Positive perceptions about LPG’s safety (OR = 2.49, 95% CI = 2.04, 3.05), cooking speed (OR = 4.31, 95% CI = 2.62, 7.10), affordability (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.38, 2.09), availability (OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.72, 2.73), and its ability to cook most dishes (OR = 3.79, 95% CI = 2.87, 5.01), were significantly associated with exclusive LPG use. Socio-economic status (higher education) and household wealth (higher income) were also associated with a greater likelihood of LPG adoption. Effective strategies to raise awareness around safe use of LPG and interventions to address financial barriers are needed to scale wider adoption and sustained use of LPG for clean cooking, displacing reliance on polluting solid fuels.

Suggested Citation

  • Alison Pye & Sara Ronzi & Bertrand Hugo Mbatchou Ngahane & Elisa Puzzolo & Atongno Humphrey Ashu & Daniel Pope, 2020. "Drivers of the Adoption and Exclusive Use of Clean Fuel for Cooking in Sub-Saharan Africa: Learnings and Policy Considerations from Cameroon," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-24, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:16:p:5874-:d:398442
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/16/5874/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/16/5874/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vasundhara Bhojvaid & Marc Jeuland & Abhishek Kar & Jessica J. Lewis & Subhrendu K. Pattanayak & Nithya Ramanathan & Veerabhadran Ramanathan & Ibrahim H. Rehman, 2014. "How do People in Rural India Perceive Improved Stoves and Clean Fuel? Evidence from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Alem, Yonas & Beyene, Abebe D. & Köhlin, Gunnar & Mekonnen, Alemu, 2016. "Modeling household cooking fuel choice: A panel multinomial logit approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 129-137.
    3. Shankar, Anita V. & Quinn, Ashlinn K. & Dickinson, Katherine L. & Williams, Kendra N. & Masera, Omar & Charron, Dana & Jack, Darby & Hyman, Jasmine & Pillarisetti, Ajay & Bailis, Rob & Kumar, Praveen , 2020. "Everybody stacks: Lessons from household energy case studies to inform design principles for clean energy transitions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    4. Shonali Pachauri & Narasimha D Rao & Colin Cameron, 2018. "Outlook for modern cooking energy access in Central America," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(6), pages 1-20, June.
    5. Evelyn L. Rhodes & Robert Dreibelbis & Elizabeth Klasen & Neha Naithani & Joyce Baliddawa & Diana Menya & Subarna Khatry & Stephanie Levy & James M. Tielsch & J. Jaime Miranda & Caitlin Kennedy & Will, 2014. "Behavioral Attitudes and Preferences in Cooking Practices with Traditional Open-Fire Stoves in Peru, Nepal, and Kenya: Implications for Improved Cookstove Interventions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-17, October.
    6. Heltberg, Rasmus, 2005. "Factors determining household fuel choice in Guatemala," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(3), pages 337-361, June.
    7. Sehjpal, Ritika & Ramji, Aditya & Soni, Anmol & Kumar, Atul, 2014. "Going beyond incomes: Dimensions of cooking energy transitions in rural India," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 470-477.
    8. Song, Conghe & Bilsborrow, Richard & Jagger, Pamela & Zhang, Qi & Chen, Xiaodong & Huang, Qingfeng, 2018. "Rural Household Energy Use and Its Determinants in China: How Important Are Influences of Payment for Ecosystem Services vs. Other Factors?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 148-159.
    9. Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Das, Sukanya & De Groote, Hugo & Behera, Bhagirath, 2014. "Determinants of household energy use in Bhutan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 661-672.
    10. Obianuju B. Ozoh & Tochi J. Okwor & Olorunfemi Adetona & Ayesha O. Akinkugbe & Casmir E. Amadi & Christopher Esezobor & Olufunke O. Adeyeye & Oluwafemi Ojo & Vivian N. Nwude & Kevin Mortimer, 2018. "Cooking Fuels in Lagos, Nigeria: Factors Associated with Household Choice of Kerosene or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-13, March.
    11. Richenda Van Leeuwen & Alex Evans & Besnik Hyseni, 2017. "Increasing the Use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas in Cooking in Developing Countries," World Bank Publications - Reports 26569, The World Bank Group.
    12. Troncoso, Karin & Soares da Silva, Agnes, 2017. "LPG fuel subsidies in Latin America and the use of solid fuels to cook," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 188-196.
    13. Zhang, Xiao-Bing & Hassen, Sied, 2017. "Household fuel choice in urban China: evidence from panel data," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(4), pages 392-413, August.
    14. Farsi, Mehdi & Filippini, Massimo & Pachauri, Shonali, 2007. "Fuel choices in urban Indian households," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(6), pages 757-774, December.
    15. Simon Batchelor & Ed Brown & Nigel Scott & Jon Leary, 2019. "Two Birds, One Stone—Reframing Cooking Energy Policies in Africa and Asia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, April.
    16. Jacqueline Hollada & Kendra N. Williams & Catherine H. Miele & David Danz & Steven A. Harvey & William Checkley, 2017. "Perceptions of Improved Biomass and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Stoves in Puno, Peru: Implications for Promoting Sustained and Exclusive Adoption of Clean Cooking Technologies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-14, February.
    17. Praveen Kumar & Robert Ethan Dover & Antonia Díaz-Valdés Iriarte & Smitha Rao & Romina Garakani & Sophia Hadingham & Amar Dhand & Rachel G. Tabak & Ross C. Brownson & Gautam N. Yadama, 2020. "Affordability, Accessibility, and Awareness in the Adoption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas: A Case-Control Study in Rural India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, June.
    18. Mottaleb, Khondoker Abdul & Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Ali, Akhter, 2017. "An exploration into the household energy choice and expenditure in Bangladesh," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 767-776.
    19. Hiemstra-van der Horst, Greg & Hovorka, Alice J., 2008. "Reassessing the "energy ladder": Household energy use in Maun, Botswana," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 3333-3344, September.
    20. Coelho, Suani Teixeira & Sanches-Pereira, Alessandro & Tudeschini, Luís Gustavo & Goldemberg, José, 2018. "The energy transition history of fuelwood replacement for liquefied petroleum gas in Brazilian households from 1920 to 2016," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 41-52.
    21. Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Behera, Bhagirath & Ali, Akhter, 2016. "Patterns and determinants of household use of fuels for cooking: Empirical evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 117(P1), pages 93-104.
    22. Masera, Omar R. & Saatkamp, Barbara D. & Kammen, Daniel M., 2000. "From Linear Fuel Switching to Multiple Cooking Strategies: A Critique and Alternative to the Energy Ladder Model," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 2083-2103, December.
    23. Jean Hugues Nlom & Aziz A. Karimov, 2015. "Modeling Fuel Choice among Households in Northern Cameroon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-11, July.
    24. Gould, Carlos F. & Urpelainen, Johannes, 2018. "LPG as a clean cooking fuel: Adoption, use, and impact in rural India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 395-408.
    25. Wickramasinghe, Anoja, 2011. "Energy access and transition to cleaner cooking fuels and technologies in Sri Lanka: Issues and policy limitations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7567-7574.
    26. Ronzi, Sara & Puzzolo, Elisa & Hyseni, Lirije & Higgerson, James & Stanistreet, Debbi & Hugo, MBatchou Ngahane Bertrand & Bruce, Nigel & Pope, Daniel, 2019. "Using photovoice methods as a community-based participatory research tool to advance uptake of clean cooking and improve health: The LPG adoption in Cameroon evaluation studies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 30-40.
    27. Han, Hongyun & Wu, Shu & Zhang, Zhijian, 2018. "Factors underlying rural household energy transition: A case study of China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 234-244.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shari, Babajide Epe & Dioha, Michael O. & Abraham-Dukuma, Magnus C. & Sobanke, Victor O. & Emodi, Nnaemeka V., 2022. "Clean cooking energy transition in Nigeria: Policy implications for Developing countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 319-343.
    2. Ashlinn K. Quinn & Kendra N. Williams & Lisa M. Thompson & Steven A. Harvey & Ricardo Piedrahita & Jiantong Wang & Casey Quinn & Ajay Pillarisetti & John P. McCracken & Joshua P. Rosenthal & Miles A. , 2021. "Fidelity and Adherence to a Liquefied Petroleum Gas Stove and Fuel Intervention during Gestation: The Multi-Country Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-18, November.
    3. Bill Vaneck Bot & Petros J. Axaopoulos & Evangelos I. Sakellariou & Olivier Thierry Sosso & Jean Gaston Tamba, 2023. "Economic Viability Investigation of Mixed-Biomass Briquettes Made from Agricultural Residues for Household Cooking Use," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-13, September.
    4. Oyewale Mayowa Morakinyo & Matlou Ingrid Mokgobu, 2022. "Indoor Household Exposures and Associated Morbidity and Mortality Outcomes in Children and Adults in South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-20, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alananga, Samwel Sanga & Igangula, Nurdin Husama, 2022. "Constrained cooking energy choices: Understanding up-the-ladder stacking behaviour in Dar es Salaam Tanzania," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    2. Muhammad Irfan & Michael P. Cameron & Gazi Hassan, 2021. "Can income growth alone increase household consumption of cleaner fuels? Evidence from Pakistan," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2021(2), pages 121-146.
    3. Liu, Zhong & Wang, Menghan & Xiong, Qinqin & Liu, Chang, 2020. "Does centralized residence promote the use of cleaner cooking fuels? Evidence from rural China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Kojo Sarfo Gyamfi & Elena Gaura & James Brusey & Alessandro Bezerra Trindade & Nandor Verba, 2020. "Understanding Household Fuel Choice Behaviour in the Amazonas State, Brazil: Effects of Validation and Feature Selection," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-21, July.
    5. Muller, Christophe & Yan, Huijie, 2018. "Household fuel use in developing countries: Review of theory and evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 429-439.
    6. Pallegedara, Asankha & Mottaleb, Khondoker Abdul & Rahut, Dil Bahadur, 2021. "Exploring choice and expenditure on energy for domestic works by the Sri Lankan households: Implications for policy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    7. Dongzagla, Alfred & Adams, Abdul-Moomin, 2022. "Determinants of urban household choice of cooking fuel in Ghana: Do socioeconomic and demographic factors matter?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    8. Liu, Pihui & Han, Chuanfeng & Liu, Xinghua & Teng, Minmin, 2023. "Assessing the effect of nonfarm income on the household cooking energy transition in rural China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    9. Wang, Menghan & Liu, Zhong & Xu, Aiyan & Yang, Dan, 2022. "Fuel choice for rural Tibetan households: Impacts of access to credit," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    10. Han, Hongyun & Wu, Shu, 2018. "Rural residential energy transition and energy consumption intensity in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 523-534.
    11. Gebru, Bahre & Elofsson, Katarina, 2023. "The role of forest status in households’ fuel choice in Uganda," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    12. Emodi, Nnaemeka Vincent & Haruna, Emmanuel Umoru & Abdu, Nizam & Aldana Morataya, Sergio David & Dioha, Michael O. & Abraham-Dukuma, Magnus C., 2022. "Urban and rural household energy transition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does spatial heterogeneity reveal the direction of the transition?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    13. Gill-Wiehl, A. & Ray, I. & Kammen, D., 2021. "Is clean cooking affordable? A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    14. Kuo, Ying-Min & Azam, Mehtabul, 2019. "Household Cooking Fuel Choice in India, 2004-2012: A Panel Multinomial Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 12682, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Fydess Khundi-Mkomba, 2021. "Are Urban Rwandan Households using Modern Energy Sources? An Exploration of Cooking Fuel Choices," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(2), pages 325-332.
    16. Gill-Wiehl, Annelise & Brown, Timothy & Smith, Kirk, 2022. "The need to prioritize consumption: A difference-in-differences approach to analyze the total effect of India's below-the-poverty-line policies on LPG use," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    17. van der Kroon, Bianca & Brouwer, Roy & van Beukering, Pieter J.H., 2013. "The energy ladder: Theoretical myth or empirical truth? Results from a meta-analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 504-513.
    18. Malla, Sunil & Timilsina, Govinda R, 2014. "Household cooking fuel choice and adoption of improved cookstoves in developing countries : a review," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6903, The World Bank.
    19. Harrington, Elise & Athavankar, Ameya & Hsu, David, 2020. "Variation in rural household energy transitions for basic lighting in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    20. Wassie, Yibeltal T. & Rannestad, Meley M. & Adaramola, Muyiwa S., 2021. "Determinants of household energy choices in rural sub-Saharan Africa: An example from southern Ethiopia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:16:p:5874-:d:398442. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.