Ghana Alliance For Clean Cookstoves Elects New Executives

Stakeholders of the Ghana Alliance for Clean Cookstoves( GHACCO), have elected a five- member executive body to coordinate affairs of the Ghana Chapter of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves of the Ashanti Zone for the next two years.

GHACCO in partnership with SNV and Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves held the elections after the first Regional Stakeholders Meeting for 2018 at the SSNIT Conference Hall in Kumasi under the theme: Cooking Must Not Kill.

According to organizers of the event, leadership of the national alliance chose the theme to create awareness on the harmful effects of cooking with unimproved and traditional cookstoves on mothers and children in particular and the society at large.

Facilitators of the regional stakeholders meeting and elections indicated that toxic smoke has many hazardous health implications, alleging that about 17,000 people die annually through exposure to it (toxic smoke), a development that must be of great concern to all.

The new executives have therefore been tasked to strategically collaborate with the national executives and stakeholders of GHACCO as well as donor communities and agencies in the formulation of the needed policies towards the goal of achieving universal adoption of Clean Cookstoves usage in Ghana.

The immediate past Ashanti regional coordinator of GHACCO, Mr Michael Yaw Agyei, pointed out that the use of traditional and unimproved cooking stoves does not only pose health threats on individuals but also comes with many negative environmental consequences.

He regrets that despite the ongoing campaign for the adoption of improved modern cookstoves, over 70 percent of households in Ghana still use solid fuel for cooking resulting in about 21 percent impact on indoor pollution.

The former coordinator argued that by adopting the use of improved cookstoves, the nation can reduce its carbon emissions in order to improve the state of climatic conditions and also help address the issue of deforestation.

Mr. Yaw Agyei urged all citizens, stakeholders and policy makers to actively join the campaign for the universal adoption of the Clean Cookstoves initiative in the country.

Members of the newly elected executives include: Engineer Edem Bensah and Michael Kweku, Regional Coordinator and Deputy respectively, Priscilla Serwaah Gyesi- Secretary and Mr. Douglas Annor, PRO.