Is everyone equally affected by air pollution? Or are some populations more at risk to the health impacts of air pollution?  

The level of health risk varies between populations. People living in low and middle-income countries are typically more vulnerable to air pollution due to the higher levels of air pollution they are exposed to each day, and the higher prevalence rates of diseases that are negatively affected by air pollution exposure, like asthma. Populations living in slums or near busy highways or roads, lacking access to clean cooking, or in certain occupations are other examples of populations more vulnerable to the adverse impacts of air pollution.  

How is energy poverty linked to household air pollution? 

The health risks of household air pollution are strongly correlated with poverty. These risks are not distributed evenly across countries, or even within countries. People in sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia and the Western Pacific experience the highest rates of health problems from exposure to indoor pollutants related to household energy use. Within these regions, the burden of disease falls most heavily on rural households. Because they lack the resources to obtain cleaner fuels and devices, people in lower-income households rely mostly on fuels that they can freely gather, such as wood and dung and more traditional inefficient cooking stoves.  

Why are the health and well-being impacts from household air pollution greater for women and children? 

Within poorer households, women, children, and the elderly bear the brunt of health and other impacts of household air pollution. In most low- and middle-countries, women and children perform the domestic tasks related to household energy provision including gathering and processing fuel, tending the hearth and cooking meals; all of which led to chronic strain and injury. As they spend the most time in the kitchen or in polluted living spaces, women and children have higher rates of exposure to particulate matter and other pollutants emitted by stoves and open fires. 

Additionally, reliance on inefficient household fuels and devices limits the time available, especially to women, for income generation, schooling, and other opportunities for economic development. Similarly, households with limited or no access to a clean and reliable source of lighting (e.g. electricity) can lose opportunities for educational and income-generating activities outside of daylight hours. 

Energy poverty thus locks people in a vicious cycle, sapping them of time, damaging their health, and limiting their access to better livelihoods, education, and other paths out of poverty.