FG to provide clean cookstoves to women nationwide

The federal government is making plans to provide clean cookstoves to women across the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria.

The Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, stated this on Wednesday in Abuja during the flag-off of a four-day training on gender mainstreaming for Sustainable Energy Development by the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN).

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The minister expressed her gratitude to Mr President for approving the provision of the clean cookstoves to local government areas in Nigeria.

“We’ve witnessed large numbers of women dying, so we will make sure that every local government gets 1000 clean cookstoves,” she said.

She said the training was to build the capacity of the rural women who bear the brunt of poor energy access in the six Area Councils of Abuja to enable them to become the key drivers of efficient woodstoves usage.

This will also help to promote affirmative climate action in the energy sector, she noted.

The Director, Energy Training and Manpower Development at ECN, Abdulakareem Aliyu, lauded the women affairs minister for championing a clean energy era for more women saying it was the right thing to do.

ECN champions an energy mix that is reliable, clean and sustainable through stakeholders’ collaboration in the power sector and across other sectors.

On the use of clean cookstoves, the Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, last month said more than 90,000 Nigerian women and children die annually from firewood smoke.

By Favour Aliyu