Statusrapport
Report of Naturvernforbundet’s EmPOWERing Communities (2017-2020) Mid-Term Review
About 2.5 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean cooking energy, more than 1 billion people still do not have access to electricity, more than 4 million premature deaths are associated with household air pollution. Access to modern energy services is essential to promote economic growth, overcome poverty and expand employment opportunities. This has been recognized by the international community through the Sustainable Development Goal 7 of reaching "access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all" within 2030. Rural communities face the largest challenges regarding energy access. It is also the type of communities where basic energy access is the most realistic solution if we are to reach SDG 7 within 2030. Naturvernforbundet’s program is facilitating production and distribution of solutions that give basic modern and affordable energy services for households in Mozambique, Togo and Nigeria. This is done by promoting local production of improved cook stoves and making small solar electric systems for light and charging of phones available for sales in the communities. In Mozambique, Naturvernforbundet cooperates with ADEL-Sofala, Kulima and Livaningo. In Togo, the partner organization is Young Volunteers for the Environment (YVE). In Nigeria, it is Environmental Rights Action (ERA). The mid-term review was to assess the extent to which the households actually benefit from the use of such basic modern energy solutions and to recommend ways to improve the program implementation so that it can reach further results. In this context, the following specific objectives were defined: (i) to identify the level of community satisfaction regarding solar lamps and locally produced improved stoves for firewood and (ii) to identify how solar lamps and improved stoves influence the way of life of the communities included in the program.