Appiah Gets Cookstove Post

Former Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah has been unveiled as the Ghana Alliance for Clean Cookstove (GHACCO) soccer ambassador at a ceremony in Accra.

The initiative primarily seeks the adoption of five million clean cookstoves and fuels by four million households in Ghana in the new few years.

In his acceptance speech at the grand unveiling ceremony yesterday, Appiah indicated that he was inspired by the initiative due to its core mission of saving lives, especially that of children and women.

He said: 'Of the four million people killed each year from diseases caused by toxic smoke emanating from dirty stoves and open cooking fires, about half are young children who die from pneumonia.

'Alarmingly, nearly three billion people still rely on solid fuels to cook their food each day. Two million people die annually from pneumonia, lung cancer and heart disease caused by cookstove smoke, and millions more suffer from these ailments for years , as well as from injuries such as cataracts and burns.'

He mentioned that growing up in Accra suburbs like Chorkor and Mamprobi, he saw most women inhale smoke generated from the unclean ovens when cooking.

Foreign Affairs Minister Hannah Tetteh, who was the Special Guest of Honour, commended Appiah for accepting to embark on the campaign.

She said the use of the traditional method of cooking and the continued exposure of fumes have telling effects on women, creating respiratory and lungs related ailments.

GHACCO executive Lily Versta pointed out that the establishment of GHACCO has created a positive impact on society.

She said Appiah, the second ambassador of Global Alliance for Clean Cookstove, will help compliment her outfit's achievements.

By Kofi Owusu Aduonum