“The seemingly simple act of cooking a meal is responsible for four million deaths each year” and is the fourth leading health risk in the world, Radha Muthiah, executive director of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, writes in USAID’s “IMPACTblog” as part of a May series examining the agency’s global health work. She continues, “When burned in open fires and basic stoves, solid fuels emit a harmful smoke that causes a range of cancers, heart and lung diseases, developmental and neurological impacts, cataracts, and more.” Muthiah adds, “Inefficient and dangerous cooking practices are also a major cause of burns, and the acts of collecting and burning fuelwood lead to deforestation and the release of climate-changing gases, respectively.” She discusses the actions of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and “its goal … for 100 million households to adopt clean cookstoves and fuels by the year 2020” (5/11).