Knowledge and perceptions of hazards associated with traditional cooking and heating fuels

Dependence on traditional fuels including wood, coal, charcoal, and paraffin is common practice in most developing countries. These fuels are usually burned in poorly designed cookstoves, thus the combination fuel/ stove, which results in emissions of several health hazards. This paper uses data from Louiville rural community in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa and semi-urban areas in the city of Mbuji-Mayi in the Democratic Republic of Congo to assess households' awareness of health hazards from traditional cooking and heating fuels. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire, and a total of 165 households from Louiville and 84 from Mbujimayi participated were included in the results. Households were categorized according to geographical setting and level of education (primary, secondary and tertiary). The findings revealed that the knowledge of health hazards was equally distributed amongst households in Louiville and Mbujimayi. However, there were variations in the perceptions of health risks, with most respondents associating coughing, runny nose, and eye irritation symptoms with exposure to cooking and heating fuels' hazards. There needs to be an emphasis on increasing access to clean energy sources, especially for the poor communities, considering current evidence on health risks associated with the domestic burning of traditional fuels.