Bio­mass fuels (wood, char­coal, dung, and agri­cul­tur­al residues) are vital to basic wel­fare and eco­nom­ic activ­i­ty in devel­op­ing nations, espe­cial­ly in sub-Saha­ran Africa (SSA), where they meet more than 90% of house­hold ener­gy needs in many nations. Com­bus­tion of bio­fu­els emit pol­lu­tants that cur­rent­ly cause over 1.6 mil­lion annu­al deaths glob­al­ly (400,000 in SSA. Because most of these deaths are among chil­dren and women, bio­mass use is direct­ly or indi­rect­ly relat­ed to mul­ti­ple Mil­len­ni­um Devel­op­ment Goals (MDGs), includ­ing envi­ron­men­tal sus­tain­abil­i­ty, reduc­ing child mor­tal­i­ty, and gen­der equity.

Tak­ing indoor air pol­lu­tion mea­sure­ments in rur­al Kenya

Mak­ing char­coal, Kenya

Women gath­er­ing fire­wood, Zombe, Kenya