THP Perspective: Most of our partners lack electricity. This is a barrier to peoples’ right to development: their health center lacks a cold-chain and reliable service at night, they lack reliable access to information or even the chance to read when they have time. They depend on inefficient and dangerous wood-powered cookstoves, creating health problems, especially for women. Empowering our communities to access safe cooking fuels and at least a modicum of reliable and affordable electricity is a priority.

Key Interventions:

• Work with communities to develop and adopt efficient, safe cookstoves.
• Strengthen the ability of communities to negotiate connections to the local grid where available, or to gain access to sustainable power through solar panels.

Key messages:

• tkm

Global Campaigns and Initiatives:

• The UN Secretary General’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative
• President Obama’s Power Africa initiative
• Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves

Key agencies:

• UN-Energy
• UNIDO – Energy and Environment Priority
• USAID
• Asian Development Bank – Energy for All Program

Key reports and data sources:

• tkm

Key blogs and newsfeeds:

• tkm

Must-read books:

• E. F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful