Experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) are in Rwanda to train local officials from the health, energy and environment sectors, on the need for more efforts toward Clean Household Energy and fighting Household Air Pollution (HAP). HAP is air pollution generated in and around the home, resulting from inefficient combustion of fuels and technologies to meet daily household energy needs such as cooking, heating and lighting. Statistics show that a third of the world’s population relies mainly on polluting fuels and stoves for cooking. According to the WHO statistics, HAP is a major source of outdoor air pollution, and is attributable to a number of health concerns including cardiovascular diseases, stroke, respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer are attributable to pollution, while emerging evidence has linked it to adverse pregnancy outcomes, diabetes, tuberculosis, nasopharyngeal and laryngeal cancers. Trainees follow a presentation by a WHO expert. In 2019, it was estimated that 98.5 % of the population of Rwanda are exposed to HAP. From Tuesday, May 3 to Friday 6, the WHO is holding a consultation and capacity building meeting aimed at sharing evidence with Rwandan officials concerning the importance of Clean Household Energy, and the need to take decisions for accelerating access to it in the country. The meeting also looks to identify barriers, opportunities, and recommendations to increase access to Clean Household Energy in Rwanda for incorporation as well as beginning the process of forming a steering committee to plan for the design and implementation of a Clean Household Energy policy, among other things. Speaking at the meeting, Heather Adair-Rohani, the Acting Unit Head for Air Quality and Health at WHO Headquarters talked about the serious impacts of air pollution, as she highlighted the need for technical skills and resources to “make action happen on the ground and in an effective way.” “Air pollution is something that really impacts us all. We all need air – clean air to breathe, to live and function. Air pollution is a massive source of non-communicable diseases. It is also a source of communicable diseases like childhood pneumonia or pneumonia in adults as well. We are seeing connections with tuberculosis and other things, and new epidemiological evidence is showing that air pollution is a cause of cognitive development impairment in children,” she said. “That is why we are gathered today here to really share some of the tools that WHO has to support the health sector taking leadership in this, as well as the energy sector and the environment sector, so that there is a common dialogue around the table and people can all be using the same evidence and same information to make critical decisions about how we can accelerate access to Clean Household Energy,” she added. Participants are from different public institutions. She praised Rwanda for having “really shown an incredible amount of leadership in regards to household energy “and making global commitments to tackle clean cooking, not only for general development but for heath and the environment. Edward Kamuhangire, the Director of Health Quality Services, Standards and Regulation at the Ministry of Health said the Ministry’s Annual Report for the year 2019/2020 showed that respiratory diseases are among the top ten diseases in the country, and these can be associated with air pollution. Participants are from different public institutions.
