By Abass Mahmoud Sillah Jr
The Chairman of Sierra Leone’s Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security, Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, has called for urgent regional action to address the growing clean cooking crisis, announcing a major initiative led by the Economic Community of West African States to expand access to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) across West Africa. Speaking at a high-level regional dialogue convened in collaboration with the Office of the First Lady and development partners, Dr. Yumkella underscored the scale of the global energy access gap and its disproportionate impact on Africa.
“Globally, over two billion people still lack access to clean cooking solutions,” he said. “A significant proportion of these are in Africa, where the need is most urgent and the consequences most severe.” He warned that household air pollution linked to traditional cooking methods continues to pose a major public health threat, contributing to an estimated 3.7 million deaths annually worldwide. Africa, he noted, bears a substantial share of this burden. In a major policy development, Dr. Yumkella revealed that Sierra Leone and Zambia have been selected as the first pilot countries for the ECOWAS LPG expansion programme.
The initiative aims to promote cleaner, safer, and more sustainable cooking alternatives, particularly for women and rural communities. He emphasized that the programme will be driven through public-private partnerships, ensuring long-term sustainability rather than reliance on donor-funded interventions. “This is not a free gift,” he stated. “We must mobilize private sector investment, deploy appropriate technologies, and implement the right public policies to make clean cooking accessible and affordable.” Dr. Yumkella highlighted the strategic role of women leaders in advancing the clean cooking agenda, noting that First Ladies across Africa are forming a strong advocacy coalition to elevate the issue at the highest political level, including the upcoming African Union Summit.
“Our First Lady, who also chairs the network of African First Ladies, is working with her counterparts to build a powerful coalition that will take this issue directly to Heads of State,” he said. Drawing parallels with the global renewable energy movement, Dr. Yumkella recalled that two decades ago, clean energy technologies such as solar power faced skepticism and limited investment. “Twenty years ago, it was not fashionable to talk about solar energy,” he noted. “Today, we see over $300 billion in global investments in clean energy. That transformation was driven by strong coalitions, clear policies, and sustained advocacy.”
He stressed that a similar coordinated effort is now required to scale up clean cooking solutions across Africa. Placing the initiative within a broader regional development framework, Dr. Yumkella said the move aligns with the strategic vision of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State, currently chaired by Sierra Leone’s President, to identify transformative priorities for the next 50 years. He noted that clean cooking has historically been treated as a secondary issue by international development partners but is now being repositioned as a critical driver of health, environmental sustainability, and economic empowerment.
“We are deliberately starting with clean cooking because of its far-reaching social, economic, and environmental impacts,” he explained. “This is the foundation upon which broader energy and development goals can be built.” The dialogue marks the beginning of a series of high-level engagements bringing together global experts, policymakers, and private sector actors to shape a comprehensive regional strategy. Dr. Yumkella reaffirmed Sierra Leone’s commitment to advancing a clean energy transition, including expanding access to renewable energy and modern cooking solutions as part of the government’s broader development agenda. He concluded by emphasizing the central role of women in driving the initiative forward, describing their leadership as essential to achieving inclusive and sustainable outcomes across the region.
