“From Smoke To Sustainability”: Why Women Hold The Key To Uganda’s Clean Cooking Transition

 

By DOREEN ASASIRA

Kampala, Uganda, [SHIFTMEDIA]  As Uganda prepares to mark International Women’s Day on March 8, conversations about gender equality should extend beyond leadership and representation to the everyday realities shaping women’s lives. One of the most overlooked yet transformative issues is clean cooking. Across the country, millions of households still rely on firewood and charcoal, exposing women and girls to health risks, environmental degradation, and lost economic opportunities.

With only four years remaining to achieve the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7—which calls for universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy—the urgency of accelerating Uganda’s clean cooking transition has never been greater.

Recent findings from the Office of the Auditor General of Uganda show that progress toward shifting households and institutions from biomass fuels to clean cooking technologies remains slow and fragmented. Despite national commitments and several government initiatives coordinated by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, a significant portion of the population continues to depend on traditional fuels such as firewood and charcoal. The reasons are clear: clean cooking technologies remain inaccessible, unaffordable, or insufficiently promoted across many communities.

For Ugandan women, the consequences of this energy gap are immediate and deeply personal. Women are still the primary managers of household cooking and fuel collection. In many rural communities, they spend hours each day searching for firewood, often walking long distances and exposing themselves to physical strain and safety risks. At the same time, smoke from traditional stoves exposes women and their children to indoor air pollution, which contributes to respiratory illnesses and other serious health conditions.

Yet this daily burden rarely receives the national attention it deserves. Behind the statistics lies a silent crisis affecting millions of households.

The Auditor General’s report further reveals that while Uganda has established programs intended to accelerate the adoption of clean cooking technologies, implementation challenges persist. These include weak coordination among government institutions, limited monitoring of the adoption of clean technologies, and inadequate public awareness campaigns about available alternatives. Without stronger oversight and accountability, many interventions risk remaining policy promises rather than tangible improvements in people’s lives.

However, the transition to clean cooking is not only a public health and environmental priority—it is also an economic opportunity. When women spend less time collecting firewood, they gain valuable time for productive activities such as farming, entrepreneurship, education, and community leadership. Clean cooking technologies can also open new economic pathways for women through involvement in supply chains that include the distribution, marketing, and maintenance of modern energy products.

In this sense, energy access becomes a powerful tool for women’s economic empowerment.

As Uganda moves closer to the 2030 deadline, the question becomes unavoidable: can the country accelerate its energy transition in time? The answer largely depends on how effectively government institutions translate policy commitments into practical solutions that reach households. Strengthening oversight, improving coordination among implementing agencies, and establishing effective monitoring frameworks will be critical to ensuring that resources invested in energy transition deliver measurable results.

 

Yet Policy Reforms Alone will not be Enough.

The success of Uganda’s clean cooking agenda will depend heavily on community ownership, and women must be placed at the center of this transformation. Women understand the realities of household energy use better than anyone else. When they are involved in designing, distributing, and promoting clean cooking technologies, adoption rates increase significantly because solutions reflect real household needs.

 

International Women’s Day therefore presents an opportunity to rethink how Uganda approaches its energy transition. Women should not be seen merely as beneficiaries of clean cooking programs but as agents of change capable of driving the shift from biomass to sustainable energy systems. Providing women with training, financing opportunities, and leadership roles within the clean energy sector could dramatically accelerate the adoption of modern cooking solutions across the country.

The environmental stakes are equally significant. Uganda’s heavy dependence on biomass fuels continues to drive deforestation and ecosystem degradation as demand for charcoal and firewood rises alongside population growth. Expanding access to clean cooking technologies would not only improve public health and gender equality but also help protect the country’s forests and strengthen climate resilience.

With only four years remaining to achieve the SDGs, Uganda stands at a decisive moment. The path toward a sustainable energy future will require stronger government commitment, better implementation of existing policies, and greater investment in accessible clean cooking technologies.

 

But perhaps the most powerful catalyst for change lies in empowering the people who interact with cooking energy every day.

If Uganda places women at the center of its clean cooking transition, the shift from smoke-filled kitchens to sustainable energy systems can move from aspiration to reality. As the country celebrates International Women’s Day, there could be no more meaningful tribute than ensuring that the women who have carried the burden of traditional cooking for generations become leaders of a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable energy Future.

The Author is an Environmentalist & Climate advocate