2021•10•27     Kuala Lumpur

Researchers from UNU-IIGH and WHO  call for an expansion of data on household energy use routinely collected through national surveys to gauge the health effects by gender.

Key messages:

• Household air pollution threatens the health of billions and contributes to climate change
• Women and girls are disproportionately affected because they are often responsible for household energy-related tasks
• Several existing national surveys have recently incorporated additional questions on household energy use, but considerable gaps remain, particularly related to assessing gendered health and livelihood impacts
• Governments should request that core questions on household energy use, recommended by experts, be included in national surveys to better characterise gendered impacts and inform investment and policy decisions

This article is part of a series commissioned by The BMJ, based on an idea from the United Nations University-International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH) and the World Health Organization, to mark the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and platform for action.  Read the full article at: https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n2273