Nearly one billion people across Africa still lack access to clean cooking technologies, exposing households to severe health risks and slowing progress toward universal energy access.
Across Sub-Saharan Africa, roughly four in five households continue to rely on charcoal, firewood, and kerosene for cooking. These fuels release toxic particulate matter and carbon monoxide in poorly ventilated homes, contributing to respiratory illness and cardiovascular disease while disproportionately affecting women and children.
The challenge is increasingly central to the continent’s broader electrification strategy. At recent discussions during the World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., policymakers and civil society organisations highlighted clean cooking access as a major barrier to economic inclusion, gender equality and climate progress.
Since a 2024 global summit on clean cooking, approximately $2.2 billion has been mobilised to expand access across Africa. Thirty countries have joined national energy compact frameworks linked to Mission 300, a joint programme led by the World Bank Group, African Development Bank and Rockefeller Foundation to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030.
Read Also: Standard Bank and Anthem Advance 475 MW Notsi Solar Project in South Africa
Energy specialists argue clean cooking must be treated as a core component of that target rather than a secondary objective. Traditional cooking fuels remain linked to approximately 815,000 premature deaths globally each year. In addition to health impacts, reliance on woodfuel contributes to deforestation across large parts of the continent. The International Energy Agency estimates emissions from traditional cooking methods equal roughly 1.2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide annually, comparable to emissions from global aviation and shipping combined.
Despite progress under national energy compacts, financing constraints continue to slow deployment. Many African countries face high borrowing costs and limited access to concessional finance, with more than 20 nations currently at risk of debt distress. These pressures affect the ability of governments and utilities to scale investment in household-level clean energy infrastructure.
Energy access advocates argue the transition must accelerate to avoid widening inequality between electrified urban areas and rural communities still dependent on solid fuels. Expanding clean cooking technologies remains one of the fastest pathways to improving public health outcomes while strengthening energy security across the continent.
By Thuita Gatero, Managing Editor, Africa Digest News. He specializes in conversations around data centers, AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy.
