Health impacts of household energy use: indicators of exposure to air pollution and other risks

The information gained from national surveys is essential for monitoring performance towards health goals and targets and informing allocation of resources for health priorities. Recent evidence of the negative impact of household air pollution on health suggests that it is time to upgrade national surveys to inform decision-making on improved fuels and cookstoves. More than 40% of the world's population rely on solid fuels such as wood, crop residues or dung for their cooking and heating needs. The Demographic and Health Survey and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey are two nationally-representative household surveys that have been widely used to collect data on health risks and outcomes since 1984 and 1995, respectively. To date, surveys of this type have been conducted nearly 600 times in roughly 190 countries, typically every three to five years among 5,000 to 30,000 households. Given the significant burden of disease and environmental impacts associated with cooking with unimproved stoves and fuels, more effort is needed to identify indicators that will accelerate progress.