Africa Elevates Clean Cooking to Core Development Priority

The High-Level Heads of State event, convened by Kenya, Norway, and the International Energy Agency, signaled a shift in how development partners approach household energy. For decades, the reliance on wood and charcoal has drained productivity, particularly among women and children tasked with fuel collection. Kenyan President William Ruto is now pushing for the integration of clean cooking into national planning, with a follow-up summit scheduled for Nairobi in January 2027 to solidify investment strategies.

African Development Bank Group Senior Vice President Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade emphasized that household energy is inseparable from health and human dignity. This perspective is reshaping policy, with all 36 National Energy Compacts under the Mission 300 initiative now including specific clean cooking ambitions. Countries are currently exploring a mix of solutions, ranging from electric cooking and biogas to liquefied petroleum gas and improved cookstoves.

Financial support is beginning to match this rhetoric. After committing $2 billion over a decade, the Bank Group has already directed $135 million toward the sector—a tenfold increase over previous funding levels. Active projects include biogas infrastructure in Uganda and results-based financing in Rwanda, where 100,000 households are targeted for technology upgrades. With additional contributions like Ireland’s €300,000 pledge, the focus remains on scaling these efforts to replace harmful traditional practices with sustainable alternatives.