Introduction ¶

Access to modern cooking technology significantly improves health outcomes. Currently, approximately 3 billion individuals worldwide depend on biomass fuels including wood, coal, and animal dung for cooking purposes.

The Health Crisis ¶

The World Health Organisation emphasizes that “nearly 40% of the global population rely on polluting, open fires or inefficient stoves to prepare meals.” Indoor air pollution from these cooking methods creates severe health consequences, particularly affecting women and children.

Kartoza’s Initiative ¶

Kartoza previously contributed to electricity access initiatives supporting SDG 7 goals alongside ESMAP and the World Bank. The organization now announces a partnership among the Clean Cooking Alliance, World Resources Institute, KTH Energy Systems Division, and Kartoza to develop data-driven planning solutions.

Technical Approach ¶

The project addresses clean cooking through geospatial analysis, considering natural gas networks, electricity infrastructure, fuel costs, economic viability, population density, and dwelling locations. The initiative employs open source technologies including:

• WRI’s Energy Access Explorer
• OnSSET electrification planning tool
• PostgreSQL and PostGIS databases
• Web-based technologies

Conclusion ¶

Kartoza views this collaboration as aligned with organizational values of leveraging open source technology for humanitarian benefit, with outcomes anticipated by end of 2021.