{"id":121152,"date":"2025-09-10T08:06:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T08:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/09\/10\/rachel-ruto-rallies-africas-leaders-to-prioritize-clean-cooking-at-africa-climate-summit\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T08:06:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T08:06:09","slug":"rachel-ruto-rallies-africas-leaders-to-prioritize-clean-cooking-at-africa-climate-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/rachel-ruto-rallies-africas-leaders-to-prioritize-clean-cooking-at-africa-climate-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"Rachel Ruto Rallies Africa\u2019s Leaders to Prioritize Clean Cooking at Africa Climate Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Sep 10 \u2013 First Lady, Rachel Ruto, has called for urgent, decisive action to close Africa\u2019s $4 billion annual financing gap for clean cooking, describing it as \u201cthe smartest investment we can make in humanity.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking during a high-level side event at the Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa, the First Lady warned that nearly one billion people in sub-Saharan Africa still rely on firewood and charcoal, exposing families to toxic smoke that claims over 800,000 lives annually, including 200,000 children under the age of five.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not just about stoves and fuels, it is about dignity, survival, and opportunity. Every day we wait, lives are lost and hopes deferred,\u201d Mrs. Ruto said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy 2030, let Africa be celebrated as the continent that turned smoke-filled kitchens into engines of health, equity, and prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Through her office, more than 4,000 women have already been trained as clean cooking ambassadors, with plans to scale the program to community health promoters across Kenya\u2019s 47 counties. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen women lead, transformation follows,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>Her remarks were echoed by Rachel Kyte, UK Special Envoy on Climate, who stressed the need for both financing and inclusion: \u201cBetween now and COP30, we must accelerate progress on clean cooking. We need to put more cash in the hands of women who will advocate for clean cooking. A billion women is a powerful market. Yet we still do not listen to their voices, when we do, product development leaps forward. The UK will continue to support clean cooking and Africa\u2019s green growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former Ghanaian Second Lady Samira Bawumia underscored the scale of resources required: \u201cWe need about $40 billion for sectors that are affected by clean cooking, including health, and education. This is an investment in Africa\u2019s future, not a cost.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mozambique\u2019s delegation highlighted progress at the policy level, announcing the approval of a biomass and LPG strategy to expand access to clean fuels. <\/p>\n<p>They have also proposed tax waivers for clean cooking fuels.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Mark Napier, CEO FSD Africa, noted that political leadership is as critical as finance: \u201cFor too long, clean cooking has been an afterthought. Today, we are putting it at the forefront. But I can count only seven African Heads of State who truly prioritize clean cooking. We need more political goodwill and commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The First Lady\u2019s call aligns with continental commitments adopted at the first Africa Climate Summit in 2023, including the AU Nairobi Declaration, which recognized clean cooking as a priority for Africa\u2019s just transition.<\/p>\n<p>As Mrs. Ruto concluded: \u201cThis is solvable. Let us lead boldly and together champion a future where no child suffers for the simple act of eating a meal.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Sep 10 \u2013 First Lady, Rachel Ruto, has called for urgent, decisive action to close Africa\u2019s $4 billion annual financing gap for clean cooking, describing it as \u201cthe smartest investment we can make in humanity.\u201d Speaking during a high-level side event at the Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa, the First [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121152\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}