Lessons From Rural Madagascar on Improving Air Quality in the Kitchen

Household air pollution is the second leading cause of disease in Madagascar, where more than 99% of households rely on solid biomass for cooking. This article presents findings and conclusions from an initiative to monitor household air pollution in rural Madagascar. The average concentrations of fine particulate matter and carbon monoxide in kitchens significantly exceeded World Health Organization guidelines for indoor exposure. A fixed-effect panel regression analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of fuel (charcoal, wood, and ethanol), stove (traditional, improved charcoal and wood, and ethanol), kitchen size, ventilation, building materials, and ambient environment. Ethanol is significantly cleaner than biomass fuels, and a larger kitchen significantly improves the quality of household air. Although improved wood stoves with a chimney were effective in reducing concentrations of carbon monoxide in the kitchen, improved charcoal stoves were found to have no significant impact on air quality compared with traditional charcoal stoves. The findings reinforce the need for initiatives that foster fuel switching and improved ventilation as critical first steps to fight unhealthy household air pollution in developing countries.