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French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to invest €100 million over 5 years in clean cooking methods for Africa.
President Macron tweeted this pledge during the Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa held in Paris.
“France pledges to invest €100 million over five years in clean cooking methods and will mobilise even more through the Paris Pact for People and the Planet and through Finance in Common.”
In his tweet, President Macron said the African Development Bank Group was one of the partners with whom the French government is collaborating to address the clean cooking issue:
“…with the commitment of Tanzania, Norway, the International Energy Agency, the African Development Bank and many other partners, we are taking a step forward against this silent scourge today. We are mobilising $2.2 billion to provide clean cooking alternatives to populations in Africa.”
The summit was co-chaired by President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway, the African Development Bank Group president, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol.
The landmark event brought together global leaders, including the presidents of SierraLeone and Togo, as well as the director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, among others, to make 2024 a turning point for progress on ensuring clean cooking access for all on the continent, and to mobilise the $4 billion needed annually to achieve this goal.
According to IEA, polluting and unsafe cooking methods cause the premature deaths of approximately 600,000 women and children every year.
