Health

Over 1.2 million households now have a DelAgua stove which is improving the health of over six million Rwandans.

Health

Over 1.2 million households now have a DelAgua stove which is improving the health of over six million Rwandans.

The DelAgua stove burns cleanly and significantly reduces household air pollution.

Globally, household air pollution is the leading environmental cause of premature death and disability, ahead of unsafe water and lack of sanitation, and causes more deaths than Malaria, HIV and TB combined. By using the DelAgua stove respiratory health is hugely improved due to a 73% reduction in household air pollution when using the stove outdoors. There is a 27.7% reduction in cookstove emission exposure among children.

The DelAgua stove is the most efficient portable wood stove that is distributed in Rwandan rural villages.

Families really value its portability and ease of use. Rwanda has an extended rainy season and families can quickly and easily move the stove to a doorway or porch if it is too wet to cook outside, minimising emissions in the home. Other wood stoves are used or built into the kitchen which causes significant smoke inhalation and results in respiratory diseases. Research shows that prior to receiving the DelAgua stove, 85% of households cooked indoors. On receipt of the stove, thanks to its portability combined with our comprehensive health education programme, 77% of households now never cook indoors.

Because women and children bear the brunt of tending the fire and cooking, their health is particularly impacted. 

95% of stove users notice the reduction in their family feeling the effects of smoke exposure. One of the first things they say having received their DelAgua stove is how their eyes no longer sting and their throats are no longer sore. Mothers also appreciate how much safer the stove is for their families than the old open fires which are a common cause of burns.

It is much quicker and easier to boil water, so families always have access to safe drinking water.

They can continue to use their local water source but can ensure it’s fit for drinking by boiling in a matter of minutes on the stove. This reduces waterborne diseases and results in a 46% reduction in diarrhoea in children under 5. 

Because the stove saves time as it requires less wood, lights easily and cooks quickly, mothers have more time to cook for their families. Food can be cooked in half the time, so this means they can prepare cooked meals more frequently which in turn improves nutrition and health.

The Tubeho Neza programme has been developed in partnership with global leaders in public health research. 

The project is funded by the sale of carbon credits. Help save more lives, provide more life-changing stoves, offset your carbon footprint and buy carbon credits directly from DelAgua, via the UNFCCC site.

Other Benefits

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