The Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Iziaq Salako has disclosed that traditional open fire cooking causes over 77,000 deaths in Nigeria annually through lung and heart diseases.

The Minister who said this at the National Clean Cooking Fair in Abuja on Thursday, also stated that open fire cooking also causes vision impairment, low birth weight and put people at a higher risk of suffering burnt injuries.

“The gathering of firewood exposes women and girls to gender based violence, snake bites and other physical injuries,” he said.

Salako added that cooking with firewood in open fire is a major driver of deforestation in the country which contributes to the loss of nearly 400,000 hectares of forests annually.

“Emissions from residential cooking represent about 55 million metric tonnes of CO2e and about 700,000 metric tonnes of harmful fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions. This constitutes a significant proportion of Nigeria’s total greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.

He stated that Nigeria has pledged to provide access to cooking gas for 28.8m households and improved biomass cook-stoves for 7.3m by 2030, adding that the intervention when delivered is expected to save over 30,000 lives per annum, build a domestic clean cooking industry and create new jobs, reduce deforestation.

He added that the intervention will assist the government in meeting its climate change commitments like the pledge to reduce Short Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCP) and improve the lives of women and girls in general.

“To achieve this clean cooking targets, a strong regulatory framework is needed. The Federal Ministry of Environment has therefore developed a National Clean Cooking Policy which was recently approved by the Federal Executive Council to provide a clear direction and specified pathway for Nigeria to achieve clean cooking outcomes,” he said.

Salako hinted that the Federal Ministry of Environment developed a National Clean Cooking Policy which was recently approved by the Federal Executive Council in order to provide a clear direction and specified pathway for Nigeria to achieve clean cooking outcomes.