Abstract
BackgroundHousehold air pollution (HAP) is a recognised risk factor for many diseases, including respiratory diseases, cardiovascular/circulatory disorders, adverse pregnancy outcomes and cataracts. Population exposure to biomass fuels, including wood, varies among countries and from one fuel source to the other. This study aimed to investigate the different sources of HAP in peri-urban and rural communities in Cameroon.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in a representative sample of households from the Dschang Health District (DHD) region. This included 848 homes in which a range of fuels for cooking including biomass (firewood, charcoal, sawdust), kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) were used both indoors and outdoors.ResultsOf the study households, 651 (77%) reported exclusive use of firewood and 141 (17%) reported using more than one source of fuel. Exclusive use of firewood was greater in rural communities (94%) than in peri-urban communities (38%). In peri-urban communities, use of multiple fuels including LPG, wood, sawdust and kerosene, was more common (44.75%). A total of 25.03% of households in both peri-urban and rural communities reported using bottled gas (or liquified petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking. Motivations for choice of fuel included, affordability, availability, rapidity, and cultural factors.ConclusionWood is the main cooking fuel in both peri-urban and rural communities in the Dschang Health District. Supporting households (especially those with limited resources) to adopt LPG equipment for cooking, and use in a more exclusive way is required to help reduce household air pollution.
Highlights
Household air pollution (HAP) is a recognised risk factor for many diseases, including respiratory diseases, cardiovascular/circulatory disorders, adverse pregnancy outcomes and cataracts
A pretested questionnaire was administered to heads of households or representatives in randomly selected urban and rural households in the Dschang Health District (DHD) in Cameroon from March to July 2018 to estimate the distribution of sources of household air pollution and characteristics
15% of female respondents had never been to school and 60% of female participants reported peasant farming as their main occupation
Summary
Household air pollution (HAP) is a recognised risk factor for many diseases, including respiratory diseases, cardiovascular/circulatory disorders, adverse pregnancy outcomes and cataracts. Population exposure to biomass fuels, including wood, varies among countries and from one fuel source to the other. The World Health Statistics estimated in 2018 that acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) is one of the leading causes of child mortality in the world, accounting for up to 15% of fatalities among children under five, almost all of them in developing countries [7]. Household air pollution (HAP) is thought to cause about one-third of ARI cases [1]. This makes solid fuels the second most important environmental cause of disease [6, 7] and the fourth most important cause of overall excess mortality in developing countries [6]. A growing literature indicates that environmental insults at early ages can have long lasting influences on human health and productivity [10]
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