Social and Economic Impact of the Fund

The effects of community dependence on open, three-stone fires for cooking and lack of access to clean water is a major problem throughout Africa. The open fire cooking method generates harmful household air pollution which seriously impacts the cardio – respiratory health of rural families, causes miscarriage and eye disease such as trichoma and is responsible for high rates of burns injuries in women and children.

Rural communities throughout East Africa are severely impacted by water–borne infection and disease caused by consumption of contaminated water. Children are especially vulnerable, with poor access to safe drinking water being a primary contributing factor to diarrhoea, which accounts for over 70,000 child deaths in Ethiopia each year (UNICEF, 2022).

Repeated bouts of diarrhoea also reduce nutrient absorption and dietary intake, contributing to malnutrition. The prevalence of acute malnutrition is significantly higher among children from households whose members need to travel long distances to fetch water, and who have poor access to sanitation facilities.