It’s 10:30 a.m. in the Bami neighborhood of Mbalmayo. Acrid smoke clings to the walls and ceiling, clouding the cramped, dark space where Mama Suzanne cooks. Bent over her three-stone fire, eyes blinking against the smoke, she feeds the flames with bits of wood to cook the day’s meal. A familiar scene for millions of households across Cameroon.
Like her, nearly 22 million Cameroonians still cook with wood or charcoal. This reliance on biomass comes at a high cost: household air pollution, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and increased health risks for women and children.
Yet, alternatives exist. The World Health Organization recommends the use of clean cooking fuels such as gas (LPG), electricity, solar power, and ethanol. Among these, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) features prominently in the International Energy Agency’s transition modelling as the most practical and widely available clean cooking fuel for countries with limited electricity access, like Cameroon. While other clean fuels are expected to gain importance over time, LPG remains central to near-term transition pathways.
But on the ground, the picture is more complicated. With just five years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy, as well as SDG 3 on good health and well-being; the transition to cleaner, safer cooking remains hampered by obstacles.
Why is LPG struggling to take hold in Mbalmayo? What are the barriers to this vital transition for public health? And what local solutions could help spark real change?
This three-part series takes you into the heart of Mbalmayo, a town that mirrors the challenges of both rural and urban areas in transition in Cameroon. We explore the lived realities of families, gather insights from public health experts, and highlight community-driven solutions that may help make clean cooking a reality.
Click the links below to access the three articles in this series:
Serie 1: The flame of Change: Wood still rules the kitchens in Mbalmayo
Serie 2: The flame of Change: Experts say no one should die from cooking for their family
Serie 3: The flame of Change: What path to better health, gently simmered over LPG ?
