The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and Partners Launch East Africa Regional Clean Cooking Symposium

To accelerate the momentum of the clean cooking revolution, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), in collaboration with the Government of Tanzania and the European Union, inaugurated the Eastern Africa Regional Clean Cooking Energy Symposium in Arusha, Tanzania. The event brought together industry leaders and policymakers to discuss strategies for advancing clean cooking, under the theme “Linking finance, innovation, technology adoption, access, and policy.”

The three-day regional symposium convened over 200 key stakeholders, including senior government representatives from Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania, development partners, SMEs, researchers, financial institutions, and civil society organizations. This gathering underscored a shared regional commitment to addressing the critical issue of clean cooking in East Africa, where the prevalent use of traditional biomass fuels like wood and charcoal poses significant health risks, contributes to environmental degradation, and exacerbates climate change.

In his keynote address, delivered on behalf of Hon. Dr. Dotto Mashaka Biteko, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Eng. Innocent Luoga, Commissioner of Electricity and Renewable Energy, emphasized: