Smoke in the Kitchen
House of Commons, London - 23 February, 2005
Every year indoor air pollution kills five times as many people as died in last December's earthquake and tsunami in Asia, according to the UK development minister Hilary Benn.
 |
The Secretary of State for International Development was speaking at Practical Action's Smoke in the Kitchen reception at the House of Commons.
He said that he would never forget the moment when he realised that indoor air pollution was a problem, when he was invited by a woman to go into her home in Northern Ethiopia just over a year ago:
"Her three children were blinking at me in the darkness from behind her skirt. The woman was extremely ill and had a racking cough, and I remember the blackness inside the home and the stench of wood smoke which was over powering. That brought home to me exactly why this is such an important problem and why we need to do something about it."
He went on to congratulate Practical Action on the work that it has been doing to raise awareness of this hidden "killer in the kitchen".
The event was attended by British Members of Parliament, and experts on indoor air pollution, including Eva Rehfuess of the World Health Organization. Fabian Hamilton MP tabled an early day motion in the House to further raise awareness of the problem.
Practical Action East Africa smoke field officer Hellen Owalla spoke of her experiences growing up surround by smoke pollution in the home, and the work that Practical Action is doing to design affordable and accessible solutions that can be scaled-up worldwide.
Hellen Owalla also appeared on the World Service radio programme Focus on Africa , in which she talked about indoor air pollution, and the World Service's Everywoman programme.
Clockwise from top left: Hellen Owalla, Practical Action East Africa smoke field officer, is introduced to Hilary Benn; Hellen explains how a simple smoke hood works; Cowan Coventry, the then-Practical Action Chief Executive, addresses the meeting; Eva Rehfuess of the World Health Organisation shares her expertise on indoor air pollution. (Photos: Hugh Warwick)
