Over 98,000 women, children die yearly in Nigeria from firewood smoke – WHO

The World Health Organization has revealed that over 98,000 Nigerian women and children die annually from firewood smoke.
WHO added that over 400,000 hectares of forest land is also deforested during the same period in Nigeria.
The Country Manager of WHO, Gabriel Ojobo, told reporters in Jos, the Plateau State capital, that it intends to make Plateau State to serve as a pilot for the technology where  people will no longer trek to far distances to fetch firewood.
A combination of these shortfalls and many others have persistently kept poverty figure high, especially among the low-income group in Nigeria, the body said.
However, SF Green Resources Nigeria Limited and Solar Fire Concentration of Finland are partnering to arrest the situation with the use of solar democracy under the auspices of GoSol technology.
In Ojobo’s words: “When we came into partnership with GoSol, a company based in Finland, the idea was to immediately bring this technology to Nigeria to ameliorate the long suffering and hardship people go through.
“They have different models, which they have introduced and done in so many countries, and Nigeria will be one of such countries.”
Ojobo expressed the hope that Nigerians will soon have a sigh of relief as solar democracy beacons will change the posture of Nigerian power sector.
He disclosed that in the light of the above, it is expected that the first prototype work will soon be completed as being demonstrated in Jos, it will be done in Ushongo, Benue State.
He regretted the spate at which energy has continued to significantly hamper the  economic, social and environmental development of Nigeria.