Addressing Refugee Health and Safety through Gender-Specific Interventions: Clean Ethanol Stoves Fuel as a Tool for Protection and Prevention

Household energy use is an urgent public health issue in humanitarian settings where resources are extremely scarce. Reliance on traditional biomass fuels (firewood, dung and charcoal) for all cooking needs is common. The environmental impact of fuelwood gathering and overharvesting is significant. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by the health burdens of polluting fuels.

Thus, a gender-specific approach may be required for the implementation of successful household energy projects. Two dimensions of health must be considered; refugee security and the prevention of Gender Based Violence during fuel collection, and the environmental health reduction of exposure to pollutants during indoor cooking.

Gaia Association, an implementing partner to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) implements a clean ethanol cookstove and fuel program in the Jijiga Somali camps in Ethiopia. The program has made significant advancements in refugee health and security. These results were reflected in surveys and narrative accounts collected from 2005-2009, as well as ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Ethanol stoves save on average two fuel collection trips per week providing significant timesavings over firewood.  Indoor air pollution monitoring showed that alcohol stoves achieved an 85% reduction of Particulate Matter (PM) emissions (99% in the lab) over traditional wood fires and a 93% reduction of CO in the refugee camps (93% in the lab).

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Environmental health sciences
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Identify energy gaps in humanitarian settings and targeted areas for gender-specific interventions. Demonstrate results of a successful ethanol stove and fuel intervention that makes environmental and health gains concerning women and children refugees.

Keyword(s): Refugees, Gender

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a current Project Coordinator at Project Gaia, Inc and MPH student at Boston University. I have field-experience in Ethiopia and research experience in social-impact technologies and public-private cooperation for clean energy development. I also hold a Bachelor's degrees from Gettysburg College in Political Science and Globalization Studies and is fluent in Turkish and Spanish.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3233.0: Social and political geography on practices to improve health among refugees and immigrant communities