In 2017, only 40% of the Togolese population had access to electricity, with rural areas as low as 8%.
Women and children are most at risk from illness and premature death, as they spend anything upwards of 5 hours a day within the home inhaling the smoke and fumes from cooking over the open fires.
As the primary users of cookstoves, women and girls are often solely responsible for collecting fuel; these tasks take them away from their education and income-generating activities. Often, when collecting fuel, women or girls will be traveling alone and on foot, which puts them in increased danger of assault and gender-based violence.
When the sun goes down, homes and communities are plunged into darkness, families turn to lighting their homes with dirty and potentially dangerous kerosene lamps.
The cost of running one of these lamps is up to 4 times as much as electricity and comes with the added risks of respiratory infections, childhood burns and house fires.
With little, to no lighting available, families struggle to continue working longer hours, therefore reducing their income potential, and children have less time to do their schoolwork which has an adverse effect on their education.
The cost of energy causes a heavy economic burden to low-income households, but with no other source of clean, sustainable fuel available to them, families are forced to use these sources of energy, culminating in expensive and unhealthy living environments, and spending more than 20% of their household income on energy.
The families and communities we work with are trapped in this cycle of energy poverty.