FG to distribute 15,000 cooking stoves to households

The Federal Government on Saturday said it plans to distribute 15,000 clean cooking stoves to households by the end of the year in commemoration of International Day of Clean Air and Blue Skies.

The government stated that it will also actively engage stakeholders in the development of the National Policy on Air Quality Management as well as a Youth-led National Clean Air Program that will work with celebrities and high individuals as our Clean Air Ambassadors.

The Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Iziaq Salako, in a statement to commemorate the Day in Abuja, stated that the National Clean Air Campaign tagged #BreatheEasyNigeria is expected to be launched soon by the Federal Government.

Salako said “Our ultimate vision as a government is to establish air quality monitoring stations across the country to generate a reliable database for sound policy-making and environmental management with a final destination of deploying a mobile App to give real-time Air Quality Index for major cities in Nigeria.

He said to reduce the contribution of domestic cooking to air pollution, “We have developed and we are implementing our National Clean Cooking Policy with the overall goal of achieving universal access to clean cooking energy solutions for households and institutions by 2030.”

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The Minister explained that as part of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), youths in Ogoni land are being trained in alternative livelihood to discourage artisanal refining as the day is aimed at raising awareness at all levels on the importance of clean air for human and environmental health, productivity and economic growth.

“The agenda is to reduce all forms of air pollutants to 50 percent by 2030. Globally, there is a growing concern about air pollution and the threat poor air poses to our existence with air pollution now regarded as the world’s single largest environmental health risk.

“It is estimated that 99% of the world’s population is breathing polluted air with dire consequences for everything we hold dear.

“The State of Global Air, 2024, says air pollution is the second leading risk factor for premature deaths resulting in around 8.1 million deaths annually from conditions such as stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and acute respiratory infections.”