80,000 Nigerian Women Die Annually from Firewood Toxins

The Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has revealed that over 80,000 Nigerian women die each year from toxic smoke caused by the use of firewood and traditional cooking stoves, describing the crisis as a matter of social injustice and avoidable tragedy.

Speaking at a multi-stakeholder engagement themed “PowerHer 774 – End Energy Poverty for Women”, she emphasized that these deaths are not mere statistics but real lives lost to an issue that demands urgent action.

“Energy poverty locks women in cycles of unpaid labour, economic dependence, and health risks. These 80,000 women are mothers, providers, nation-builders. Their deaths are unjust and must end on our watch,” she said.

To address this, the ministry plans to roll out solar home systems, clean cooking technologies, solar water pumps, and productive-use appliances to women across all 774 local government areas.

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, also backed the initiative, pledging to empower 3 million women with clean energy solutions by 2027 through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). He noted that energy scarcity continues to limit women’s economic potential and access to tools for productivity and growth.

Under the existing $550 million Nigerian Electrification Project, the REA has reportedly impacted 8 million Nigerians and 35,000 businesses, with 12,000 of them women-led. President Tinubu has further approved $750 million for new grid and off-grid energy projects, according to REA MD Abba Abubakar-Aliyu.