The recent summit on clean cooking in Africa has mobilised $2.2 billion in financial pledges from governments and the private sector towards addressing the continent’s clean cooking access gap.

It highlighted the necessity of redirecting resources to tackle the issue impacting a large number of women and children, particularly by ensuring clean cooking access for over one billion people in Africa who presently lack it.

Stakeholders at the summit highlighted that the tools for providing clean cooking access are both available and affordable, with a significant positive impact on the lives of people across Africa. They noted that a substantial amount of funding has been allocated to clean cooking, which has the potential to make 2024 a pivotal year for addressing this long-neglected issue.
President, African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina announced that in collaboration with various countries, the financing for clean cooking would be increased to $200 million annually over the next decade. Additionally, he mentioned that the provision of blended finance for clean cooking would be expanded through the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) .

“At the African Development Bank, we are delighted to play a leading role alongside the International Energy Agency (IEA), Tanzania and Norway, to definitively tackle the lack of access to clean cooking that affects a billion people in Africa,” he said.
Lack of access to clean cooking affects over two billion people worldwide, with more than half of them in Africa. It is the second leading cause of premature death in Africa, affecting women and children which also limits opportunities for education, employment, and independence, as women spend hours each day gathering basic fuels .

Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Faith Birol, stated that the summit has made a strong commitment to an issue that has been neglected by many for too long.
He noted that while there is still a long way to go, the $2.2 billion pledged at the summit can help support fundamental rights such as health, gender equality, and education, while also reducing emissions and restoring forests.

“The commitments go beyond the money alone as they set out concrete steps on how governments, institutions and the private sector can work together to solve the clean cooking challenge this decade. I’m proud of the IEA’s decades of work on this issue and of its leadership in initiating this summit. Going forward, we will rigorously track the commitments announced today to make sure they’re met on time and in full and continue to do our utmost to bring greater resources and attention to this critical issue.”

Following the summit, the IEA emphasized the importance of implementing a ‘double-lock system’ to maintain momentum for clean cooking initiatives in the coming months and years. The agency plans to use effective methods to ensure that pledges and commitments are fulfilled, closely monitoring the spending to ensure that the funds are used promptly and reach those in need.

Also, the agency mentioned that it will continue to play a convening role to engage more partners and generate new funds to help meet the $4 billion a year in capital investments required between now and 2030 as that level of funding would enable the deployment of stoves and fuel delivery infrastructure needed to achieve universal access to clean cooking in sub-Saharan Africa.

As other regions demonstrate rapid and transformative progress on clean cooking, Africa is urged to adopt similar innovative approaches to address the problem decisively.