Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Iman Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has reaffirmed Government’s commitment to sustainable development and women’s empowerment with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to expand access to clean cooking solutions across the country.
The initiative, under the Green Economy Empowerment 774 (GEE774) programme women economy and carbon incentives initiative, is designed to address climate change challenges while promoting gender equality and economic inclusion.
The Minister emphasised that this would ensure clean cooking solutions with a guaranteed multiplier effect on the future of families.
“As we commit to clean cooking and zero emissions today, we promise a healthier, cleaner, and more equitable future for our women, children, and communities,” she said.
The memorandum of understanding agreement signed by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Nko Asanye Esuabana, with Clean Sustainable Renewable Solutions Limited (CSR Solutions) will provide ECOCA Solar Electric Cookstove units to 4 million households, 5000 per local Government Area nationwide.
Reduce Indoor Air Pollution
The ECOCA Solar Electric Cookstove is expected to significantly reduce indoor air pollution, which claims about 95,000 lives annually in Nigeria, mainly among women and children.
Each unit comes with three LED lights to enhance energy access, two stainless steel pots, two USB charging points, and Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of carbon offsets.
Beyond health benefits, the initiative seeks to ease the burden of traditional unsafe cooking methods, create more time for education and economic opportunities for women, address deforestation, smoke ingestion and its effects on climate change.
Environmentally, each ECOCA unit will support Nigeria’s target of achieving Net-Zero emissions by 2060, with a projected offset of 4.5 tons of carbon dioxide annually, thereby aligning with the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement
Under the Leadership of Minister Iman Sulaiman-Ibrahim, the Green Economy Empowerment initiative is targeting 10,000 pilot projects for pilots states.
Observers say the initiative champions sustainable development, and strengthens collaboration among stakeholders to empower women nationwide and deliver lasting impact for future generations.