Abstract
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
final 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.