U.S. hopes to help Vietnam clean up the kitchen

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced plans for a global effort to provide clean and efficient cooking conditions in developing countries such as Vietnam.

The effort is being labeled “100 by 20” - 100 million households with clean cookstoves by the year 2020.

The initiative to provide these cooking solutions will, “Save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women and combat climate change.”

The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC) is a public-private partnership working in coordination with the United Nations Fund (UNF).

Announcing the efforts, Clinton said, “Today we can finally envision a future in which open fires and dirty stoves are replaced by clean, efficient and affordable stoves and fuels all over the world. By upgrading these dirty stoves, millions of lives could be saved and improved.”

According to the United States Embassy, the alliance will work to tackle severe health, economic and environmental consequences associated with smoke from traditional stoves and open fires which are used by an estimated 80% of households in Vietnam.

The World Health Organization stated that, “Toxic smoke from cookstoves is one of the top five health risks in developing countries, and prematurely kills nearly 2 million people worldwide each year, with women and young children most affected. Moreover, use of wood, charcoal, and rice straw and husks as fuel in traditional cookstoves contributes to deforestation and habitat loss and increases pressure on local natural resources. Inefficient cookstoves also contribute to climate change through emissions of black carbon soot and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.”

The United States has committed to providing $50.82 million over the next 5 years towards the project.

The alliance will include support from  the U.S. Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as well as mobilizing key financial resources, top experts, and research and development tools.