According to the report, "Stove fumes as big a killer as AIDS", Shell Foundation is collaborating with stove manufacturers and microfinance institutions in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to promote the improved kitchen stoves.
"Given that firewood will continue to be used in most rural households, it is now largely accepted that the most effective way to reduce smoke is through improved stoves," the report quotes Anuradha Bhavnani, regional director of Shell Foundation.
"This is why building better stoves and finding a way to persuade the poor to use them has become a priority," she added.
Over the past one year, the Foundation has tested several strategies in collaboration with the Anganwadi workers, stove manufacturers and microfinance institutions.
The report also notes the efforts of the Global Alliance on Clean Cookstoves. Simon Bishop, Head of the Room to Breathe initiative of the Shell Foundation says that the fund being raised by the alliance will address key issues in propagating the use of clean cookstoves. Says Bishop, "To create a global market for clean cookstoves, there needs to be direct support for the stoves market, indirect research on health, climate change, materials and other areas, and a general increase in awareness and knowledge about the issue and the sector."
Read the Full Story: Stove fumes as big a killer as AIDS
