An evaluation of a biomass stove safety protocol used for testing household cookstoves, in low-middle income countries

To mitigate the impact of: excess pollution, deforestation and injuries attributable to cookstoves in low-middle income countries, humanitarian and private sector organisations have made a commitment to distribute 100 million improved cookstoves (ICS) by 2020. In order to evaluate the safety of these ICS for the end users, a ten test ‘Biomass Stove Safety Protocol’ (BSSP) has been developed by the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC). However, there is no published evidence that this protocol has been independently assessed or benchmarked. This study aimed to determine whether the BSSP is fit for purpose such that, it will produce repeatable safety ratings for a range of cookstoves when performed by different testers. Results indicated that the scores for each stove varied considerably between each of the six testers with only one of five ICS receiving the same overall safety rating. While individually some tests produced relatively coherent scores, others led to large discrepancies. We conclude that although BSSP is an important starting point in highlighting the need for stove safety assessment, there are some aspects of the protocol that require further development to ensure that it can be reliably replicated by different testers

Toilet training: what can the cookstove sector learn from improved sanitation promotion?

Within the domain of public health, commonalities exist between the sanitation and cookstove sectors. Despite these commonalities and the grounds established for cross-learning between both sectors, however, there has not been much evidence of knowledge exchange across them to date. Our paper frames this as a missed opportunity for the cookstove sector, given the capacity for user-centred innovation and multi-scale approaches demonstrated in the sanitation sector. The paper highlights points of convergence and divergence in the approaches used in both sectors, with particular focus on behaviour change approaches that go beyond the level of the individual. The analysis highlights the importance of the enabling environment, community-focused approaches and locally-specific contextual factors in promoting behavioural change in the sanitation sector. Our paper makes a case for the application of such approaches to cookstove interventions, especially in light of their ability to drive sustained change by matching demand-side motivations with supply-side opportunities