The Second Lady Mrs Samira Bawumia has inaugurated an improved institutional cook stove kitchen facility, built for the Nkoranza Technical Institute at Nkoranza in the Bono East Region.
The Energy Commission constructed the facility, equipped with clay and aluminium pots, that uses less firewood, following the school’s brilliant performance during the 2022 Renewable Energy Challenge, organised by the Commission.
Speaking at a short ceremony held at the school’s premises at Nkoranza, Mrs Bawumia stressed the government’s commitment to promote clean cooking solutions in the various Senior High Schools in the country.
That, she added, would not only reduce the tendencies of food contamination, but also provide an efficient and environmentally friendly cooking environment in the schools.
Mrs Bawumia regretted that about 20,000 Ghanaians suffered from non-communicable diseases such as stroke, heart-related diseases, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases, and lung cancers, annually due to household air pollution from unclean cooking.
“As an advocate of clean cooking, I am committed to promoting the use of technologies that make cooking safer and more sustainable,” she stated.
“We must also ensure that the use of biomass for cooking is managed sustainably, as we improve the technologies used in homes and institutions,” she added.
Statistics from the 2021 Ghana Demographic and Housing Census indicate that 36.9 percent of Ghanaian households now use LPG for cooking, a significant increase from the six percent when the first national LPG promotion was launched in 1989.
Mrs Bawumia said, “we should therefore take pride in our achievements in promoting access to clean cooking solutions across both rural and urban communities” and called on stakeholders to support the transformative initiative of the commission.
Engineer Oscar Amonoo Neizer, the Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission noted the use of cooked stoves remained a healthier way of food preparation, saying the construction of the facility was also in line with the commission’s Corporate Social Responsibility.
He said the facility would also reduce the amount of fuel consumed and emissions and called on the school to also use it for practical learning for the students.
Mr Andrews Ohene Boateng, the Principal of the Institute expressed appreciation to the commission for the facility and assured its judicious use and regular maintenance too.
He said the school had more than 4,000 students and 204 teaching staff and mentioned inadequate accommodation for both students and teachers as some of the challenges and called on the government to come to their aid.
GNA