The Food and Agriculture Organisation said it had begun the distribution of fuel efficient stoves and solar lanterns to 2,500 families at the Ngala Internally Displaced Persons camp in Borno State.
FAO Communication Officer, Patrina Pink, made the disclosure in a statement issued in Maiduguri on Friday.
Pink further stated that the organisation, in collaboration with the Borno State Ministry of the Environment, provided sustainable cooking and lighting solutions to deserving households at Ngala Local Government Area of the state.
Pink said: “On November 22, FAO began the distribution of lightweight fuel-efficient stoves and solar lanterns to Internally Displaced Persons at Ngala IDP camp.
“A total of 2,500 displaced families in the camp will receive the items as part of an Emergency Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) kit programme, supported by Norway.
“The programme is designed to address the alarming fuel and energy needs of households in the north-east.
“The stoves distributed not only require less fuel wood, but also produce significantly less smoke. In addition, at 5 kilogrammes, they are lightweight and ideal for highly mobile IDPs.”
Pink also revealed that an estimated 95 per cent of persons affected by the conflict relied on fuel, wood and charcoal for cooking and other domestic needs.
She noted that some households with limited access to fuel and energy resources were exposed to food insecurity and protection risks.
The FAO communication officer said the trend had forced the households to undercook meals or sell portions of their food to buy fire wood.
The officer quoted FAO Deputy Representative in Nigeria, Nourou Macki-Tall, as expressing concern over the limited mainstreaming of energy issues in humanitarian responses.
Macki-Tall, therefore, called on more agencies to adopt the SAFE programme.
He said: “The low access to fuel and energy has led FAO to establish energy and fuel related activities in the north-east.
“FAO programme in the region aims to address the challenges related to limited energy and fuel access in three ways.
“Firstly by reducing the demand for firewood, followed by increasing the supply of firewood and finally, through the promotion of sustainable livelihood.”
Macki-Tall called on sister organisations to complement the activities of FAO in hard-to-reach areas and support its Adventist Development and Relief Agency.
He quoted statistics from the Federal Ministry of Health indicating that smoke inhalation was a leading cause of respiratory illnesses, eye conditions and death in the country.
He said in 2017, FAO in collaboration with the International Centre for Energy, Environment and Development established three fuel efficient stove production centres in Borno State.
The centres, he said, were established at Maiduguri, Jere and Konduga Local Government Areas of the state, while 100 artisans were trained on production of clay stove and business management.
Macki-Tall said more than 5,000 stoves were produced and distributed to households in June.
According to him, the organisation has concluded arrangement to distribute 18,000 stoves to deserving families next year with the support of the European Union, Norway and Kuwait.