Cleaner Cookstoves, Cutting Pollution Could Save Millions Of Lives Annually, World Bank Report Says

“Cleaner cookstoves could save a million lives every year, but costs need to decrease sharply for poor households in developing countries to be able to afford them, according to a World Bank report,” The Guardian reports. “‘On thin ice: how cutting pollution can slow warming and save lives,’ published on Sunday evening, calls for action to reduce common pollutants such as soot, known as black carbon, to not only slow global warming, but prevent millions of deaths,” the newspaper writes (Tran, 11/4). “‘The damage from indoor cooking smoke alone is horrendous — every year, four million people die from exposure to the smoke,’ World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement,” Reuters notes, adding, “‘If more clean cookstoves — stoves that use less or cleaner fuel — would be used it could save one million lives,’ the report said of the annual benefits.” According to the news service, “Almost 200 nations will meet in Warsaw from November 11-22 to consider ways to combat global warming” (Doyle, 11/3).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.