This study describes the different primary fuel types used by households in a highly populated district in Cameroon. The use of firewood turned to be more dominant comparatively to the use of other fuels, though available. The population preferred to use wood since they found it easy to get, that is either from their farms or comparatively cheaper (pay as you go) with respect to other sources of fuel such as gas since getting gas entails disbursing large amounts of money for an initial kit (gas burner, gas cylinder and accessories).
Sources of household air pollution
Results of this study reveal that firewood is the main biomass fuel type used in the Dschang Health District (90%) with a significant difference between the rural and urban settings. Other fuel types including domestic gas, kerosene, charcoal and sawdust, are also found in households with slight disparities between rural and urban yet 75% of the population strictly rely on firewood for cooking. Approximately 75% of households of the DHD use more than one source of fuel however, this proportion was very low in the rural settings (11.3%).
A study published in Cameroon in 2018 showed 70% of households using solid fuel for cooking with 90% at rural level(13). Another published study conducted in another city of the same region (Bafoussam, which is the regional capital) had much lower reported solid fuel use (48%); the difference can be explained by the fact that it was conducted exclusively in an urban area with a smaller sample of household. It is therefore confirmed that rural households of the DHD in Cameroon have a higher reliance on solid fuels for cooking than urban households.
Other fuel types including domestic gas, kerosene, charcoal and sawdust are available but household access is still very limited (less than 5% at community level) for cooking; electricity is strictly used for no other purposes other than lighting. So, almost all the people living in this area have permanent high risk of developing HAP related diseases.
Interventions targeting increasing population access to non-solid fuel type with consideration of rural and urban disparities can reduce the risk of developing these diseases.
Factors influencing the choice of fuel type
Interviewed head of households or representatives cited a number of factors influencing the choice of their cooking fuel type; affordability (59.5%) and availability (17.6%) were the main reasons. Other concerns were speed of cooking, ease of use, tradition, cleanliness and health and safety. This is in agreement with other studies carried out in low-income areas of India (3–5,14,15). The population preferred to use wood since they found it easy to get, that is either from their farms or comparatively cheaper (pay as you go) with respect to other sources of fuel such as gas since getting gas entails disbursing large amounts of money for an initial kit (gas burner, cylinder and accessories).
To whom the burden of exposure to sources household of air pollution.
Mothers and children were mostly those under this heavy load of HAP. Because of their customary involvement in cooking, especially women’s exposure is much higher than men’s (3,14,16–18) with children either been carried on the back during cooking hours or laid to sleep on kitchen beds during the cooking process.
These women and children have been exposed to IAP almost all their lives, since almost every HH (92.7 for Urban vs 98.4 for Rural) has been using firewood as their cooking fuel for more than 5years and only 24% of households have used LPG as their source of cooking fuel for the same duration. This is confirmed by data from the National Demographic Health Survey which presented a prevalence of 28.1 percent of acute respiratory infections in children under five in 2014(19). Showing that the continuous exposure of the population to HAP is not leaving their health indifferent. As such, studies to evaluate their effective degree of HAP exposure and interventions to aiding the population to switch from solid fuels to cleaner sources of fuel is imperative.
Strength and Limitations
This study is not without limits which however do not alter the credibility of the data presented. The principal limits are: information bias due to the fact that data collection procedures relied solely on the declaration of participants; Questions on Health Outcomes of HAP could be considered.