Clean Cooking SIG 22nd April, 2026
Queenstar Naa Atswei Ablorh, Akwasi Adu-Poku, Joseph Oppong Akowuah, Francis
Kemausuor
Introduction
Access to clean cooking solutions remains uneven across the globe, with approximately 2.3 billion people lacking access as of 2023 (International Energy Agency [IEA], 2023). A significant proportion of this population resides in sub-Saharan Africa, where reliance on biomass fuels such as firewood and charcoal persists due to economic, cultural, and infrastructural constraints.
In Ghana, dependence on polluting cooking fuels remains substantial. According to the Ghana Statistical Service (2021), 54.3% of households rely on wood and charcoal as their primary cooking fuels, with reliance particularly high in rural areas. While liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) adoption has increased to 36.9%, access disparities persist. The continued use of traditional cooking methods contributes significantly to household air pollution, which the World Health Organization (WHO) links to thousands of premature deaths annually in Ghana (WHO, 2016).
Despite high awareness of clean cooking technologies, adoption and sustained use remain limited. This gap reflects structural barriers such as affordability and supply constraints, as well as behavioural factors including cooking preferences and limited practical knowledge. This paper examines Ghana’s policy landscape, evaluates implementation challenges, and proposes a structured advocacy solution to enhance uptake.