But in recent years, some have encountered a better way to cook, and they are working to spread the word. Most of those affected are women who are cooped up inside their homes as they toil over flames to make meals.Īlthough many women have been aware of the health risks for years, they believed there was no alternative, and in large part that was true.
These fires cause respiratory problems and other illnesses that, the WHO estimates, cause nearly 15,000 premature deaths in Cambodia each year. In Cambodia, where pots bubble over open flames in every kitchen and on every street corner, the percentage is even higher: up to 98 percent in rural areas. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the health of 40 percent of the world’s population is negatively affected by indoor air pollution from cooking fires made by burning solid biomass like wood. People are losing years of their lives by doing something as simple as cooking their daily meals, and the only way to stop it is to alter the way food is prepared. It is not an airborne illness or a sexually transmitted disease, and it can’t be solved by reducing risky behaviour or seeing the doctor. There is a quiet killer in households across Cambodia, and women and children are its primary victims.
