Akinwunmi Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank has linked the death of over 600,000 African women and children annually(his statistics) to the use of firewoods for cooking.

Disclosing this at the ongoing Africa Energy Submit in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Adesina said the lack of access to clean cooking sources by Africans has done more harm to them, their health, than good.

Themed ‘Mission 300′ the submit powered by the World bank Group, African Development Bank and other global partners is aimed at addressing African’s electricity access gap through innovative financing and new technology.

During the submit, Adesina disclosed that smoke from firewood and charcoal is responsible for the annual death of about 300,000 women and 300,000 children. He explained this during a panel discussion session with representatives from other global firms including Rockefeller foundation and World Bank.

Partly in his statement, Adesina mentioned that about $4bn in annual funding is needed to enable universal access to clean cooking sources in Africa and the AFDB committed $2bn outrightly for the goal.

Furthermore, expressing optimism towards the goal, Rajiv Shah, the president of Rockefeller foundation committed $65m for this objective and said it is achievable alongside the president of World Bank, Ajay Banga who also expressed Optimism and said the right approach is all that is needed to achieve the objective.

Meanwhile, Adesina argued that the initiative is about preserving lives and upholding dignity while he stressed on the major focus of the initiative which is Energy transition.

“And that is why a big part of what we’re trying to do is to make sure that women in Africa can cook decently without having to smoke, without their kids having to die for that.” Adesina said in his statement questioning the need of African women dieing simply because they want to cook, said it is unacceptable.

“In Good conscience, we cannot do that” he said.

On the other hand, the Deputy secretary-General of the United States, Amina Muhammed said energy access in rural communities plays very significant role in innovative transformation.

She highlighted the potentials of such development, says it can bring about change through financial  services, online Education including Women and Youths’ E-commerce.

Collectively, they have called on relevant firms and bodies across the world to help build Africa’s energy transition as Adesina hinted on other countries like Ghana, Tanzania who are committed to achieving 100% access to clean cooking sources come 2030.

Related: Tinubu Advises Nigerians to Manage Electricity