Empirical analysis of solid biomass fuel and ill-health

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) seven highlights the need to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. Improving access to reliable and affordable modern energy for cooking have far-reaching benefits on human health and the environment. In most developing countries, the use of solid biomass fuel (SBF) for cooking is widespread. Using a nationally representative household-level data from Ghana and the biprobit model, this paper examines the relationship between SBF and ill-health. The first stage results show that the adoption of SBF is significantly influenced by socio-economic factors, rental and dwelling status, food hardship, information about SBF, and geographical controls. The adoption of SBF for cooking increases the probability of a household reporting ill-health and frequently reporting ill-health by 25% each, respectively. The differential analysis indicates that charcoal has a moderate effect on ill-health relative to using wood as fuel for cooking. The findings of the study imply that households are more likely to improve their health with increasing affordability and use of clean cooking fuels. Government programs on the promotion of clean energy fuels must be intensified and make more accessible and affordable to households.