Joseph Isangura
Minister of State, Vice President’s Office (Union and Environment) Hon. Dr. Selemani Jafo said that about $800 million is lost worldwide every year due to women spending a lot of time looking for firewood instead of engaging in income-generating activities.
He said this during the launch of the Clean Energy Awareness Program through Village Savings and Credit Associations (VSLAs) enabled by the Tag-City Light Temple Church Goba Matosa in Dar Es Salaam.
Dr. Jafo said that based on these statistics, there is a great need to support the government’s efforts in raising awareness in the community to use clean cooking energy and abandon the use of firewood and charcoal, as only 6.7% of households use clean energy.
He said the use of firewood and charcoal harms people’s health and that an estimated $1.4 billion is spent worldwide each year to treat women affected by health issues.
Due to the use of dirty energy, he said that the lives of women, especially the elderly in rural areas, are at risk when they use firewood and have red eyes, a condition that makes them perceived as witches.
Dr. Jafo said the government has been directing environmental conservation by planting trees extensively through various campaigns to protect health and the environment in general.
Furthermore, he urged citizens to support the vision of the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Hon. Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, in achieving the global goal of ensuring that the community has access to clean cooking energy.
“Our world today is still plagued by the prevalence of dirty cooking energy, so we have every reason to continue raising awareness on the use of clean cooking energy,” said Dr. Jafo.
He also commended the stakeholders who volunteer to facilitate the availability of clean cooking energy, especially gas, a step that helps the community gain the motivation to use and abandon firewood and charcoal.
