A recent study has shown how the use of dual-purpose kerosene (DPK), firewood, and other unclean energy sources for cooking and other purposes affects pregnant women and children.

The findings stated that exposure to household air pollution from unclean energy sources can lead to low-birth-weight babies, cognitive impairment, and increased risk of hypertension.

The study, which was conducted over a period of 10 years, found that children born to families who used clean fuel such as gas and ethanol had better cognitive development and a lower risk of developmental problems compared to those born to families who used unclean fuel such as firewood and kerosene.

These were revealed during a stakeholders meeting on Household Air Pollution and Neuro-Cognition (HAPCOG) with the theme: “Outcome of the Research on the Exposure of Household Air Pollution on Maternal Health and Child Health.”

The meeting was organised by the Centre for Population Health and Reproductive Health (CPRH) and the Healthy Life for All Foundation (HLF) in partnership with the University of Chicago at the Local Government House and Staff Training School, Oyo State Secretariat, Ibadan.

The researchers called for increased awareness and education on the dangers of unclean energy use and the benefits of clean fuel. They are also urging policymakers to take action to provide access to clean fuel and energy sources for families, especially in rural areas.

Speaking on the outcome of the findings, Oyo state Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetumobi, called for urgent action to address the issues, promising to work with relevant government agencies and stakeholders to create awareness and promote the use of clean fuel and energy sources to mitigate the effects of household air pollution on maternal and child health.

Also speaking, a Professor of Obstetrics/Gynaecology and Director, CPRH, UI, Oladosu Ojengbede said the study’s findings have significant implications for policy makers and stakeholders.

According to Professor Ojengbede, one of the researchers, the government needs to take urgent action to provide access to clean fuel and energy sources for families, especially in rural areas.

He explained that the study’s results showed that children who were exposed to low oxygen levels due to their mothers’ use of unclean fuel during pregnancy had developmental problems and lower IQ levels compared to those who were exposed to clean fuel.

Prof. Ojengbede said, “The high point of the finding of the study, I think, can be stratified into three or four. The first thing is that one it shows that indeed there’s pollution of air.

“When you use a non-clean source of power to cook, for instance, wood, firewood or coal or kerosene, as opposed to the clean ones that come from gas, LPG or ethanol and such other sources of energy.

“The second one is that those who are cooking with an unclean source of energy, like firewood, are exposed to particulate matter, like carbon matter, which they inhale, which can affect their health. Not only their lungs, even their heart and other distant organs, and can affect, for those who are pregnant, can affect the pregnancy.

“Either the quality of pregnancy, the healthiness of the pregnancy or the outcome for that pregnancy. And when the woman has delivered, even the newborn baby can still suffer some effects of carbon that the mother inhaled while she was pregnant.

“Finally, we’ve shown that even for children who were followed up over the last five years or more, it does show that their performance, intellectual performance, capabilities, what they are able to do, but their cognitive ability is perfected. So naturally, this is a sad kind of ending for when people use an unclean source of energy.”

In his keynote address, a Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Academic Advancement Biological Sciences Division and The Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Sola Olopade said the 20-year study revealed that exposure to household air pollution from cooking with firewood and kerosene has severe implications for the cognitive development of children.

He disclosed that the study, which transitioned pregnant women from traditional cooking fuels to clean fuel like ethanol, found that women who used clean fuel had better health outcomes, including lower blood pressure, fewer miscarriages and stillbirths, and bigger babies.

He added, however, that the study also found that babies born to mothers who cooked with firewood and kerosene were developing in a low-oxygen environment, which had long-term implications for their cognitive development.

He said the study followed the children born to these mothers for 10 years and found that those exposed to low oxygen levels due to their mothers’ cooking with firewood or kerosene were developmentally behind their peers who were exposed to clean fuel.

“We are calling for urgent action to promote the use of clean fuel and reduce household air pollution, which is a major threat to the health and development of children. We are urging policymakers and the business community to work together to protect women and children from the harmful effects of air pollution and to promote sustainable and clean energy solutions.”

In her presentation, Dr. Yetunde Adeniyi, another researcher, noted that “the level of air pollution in families who cook with polluted air is high, way higher than what you find in families that use clean fuel like gas and ethanol.”

She said the study’s findings are a wake-up call for all stakeholders to take action to address the issue of unclean energy use and its implications for public health. (Nigerian Tribune)