Abstract
Women in low and middle-income countries predominantly use biofuel for cooking, resulting in potential adverse health outcomes. In India, it is estimated that about 40% of total primary energy consumption is in the domestic sector with biofuels alone accounting for about 75% of domestic energy consumption. This study assesses linkages between wood consumption and perceptions of women’s health, combining results from a rapid assessment of eight rural districts in Rajasthan with a regression analysis of data from Rajasthan State (sample size 41,965 women) from the Demographic and Health Survey 7 dataset (2015–2016). The results of the rapid survey indicate that women who cook with biofuels perceive adverse health outcomes. Educational level, income, and age have an impact on fuel consumption and clean fuel purchased. The regression model drawing upon data on women at a regional level in Rajasthan yielded significant results suggesting a strong association between fuel type and symptoms of respiratory infection controlling for age and education. This research is timely as it provides valuable evidence for India’s Ujjawala Scheme which has the mandate of providing LPG connections to women from below the poverty line.
Highlights
The health outcomes of wood consumption are well established at a global level [1,2] with greater adverse effects experienced by women as they are exposed to health hazards since they often collect, transport, and use wood for cooking [3]
Where this study could improve is in the system’s level interactions between women’s exposure and children’s exposure as well as include data related to atmospheric data (PM2.5, PM10, NO, and SO2 ) in conjunction with the seasons or monthly temperature as these risk factors are associated with respiratory symptoms
The authors are aware that collinearity and/or other confounders could distort results. This was a rapid assessment coupled with a wider Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) survey to set out future research in this domain
Summary
Background on the Link between Cooking Fuel and Respiratory Symptoms Globally. The health outcomes of wood consumption are well established at a global level [1,2] with greater adverse effects experienced by women as they are exposed to health hazards since they often collect, transport, and use wood for cooking [3]. As an abundant and widespread used cooking fuel, biomass fuel accounts for a large share of energy consumption in the world. This is acute as “energy access is far from universal—with 1.3 billion people lacking access to electricity and 2.7 billion with no access to modern and health forms of cooking” [6]. In developing countries, low income, population growth, and the rising prices of non-biomass fuel strengthen the trend for using biomass fuel [7] These influencing factors indicate that biomass fuel will continue to be used in developing countries for many decades with biomass potentially accounting for 60% of total final renewable energy used by 2030 [8]
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