India – Chest Research Foundations studies respiratory disease

January 25, 2010 · 0 comments

CRF studying causes of respiratory disease

According to the ministry of health and family welfare, India has 17 million persons living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a number that is estimated to rise to 22 million by 2016. 

The Chest Research Foundation (CRF), a respiratory health research and education body set up in 2002 and supported by India’s largest generic drug maker by sales, Cipla Ltd, late last year initiated the world’s first study to locate the cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in non-smokers.

COPD, which results in the narrowing of airways, is typically found in smokers and has the fourth largest patient population in the country after cardiac disease, diabetes and infectious diseases.  It is expected to become the third largest in 15 years, according to the Pune-based CRF.

India has 17 million people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  “The study aims to find causes of COPD in non-smokers and how (it) is different from the traditionally known respiratory disease caused by tobacco smoking,” said CRF director Sundeep Salvi.

 “It is the first such large-scale study focusing on COPD in non-smokers initiated in the world.” The study is being conducted in collaboration with the Imperial College of London over two years, involving 3,000 patients selected from a population of 100,000 across 22 villages near Pune in Maharashtra. Imperial College will fund at least 90% of the study, which is estimated to cost around £250,000 (Rs1.87crore).

An Imperial College official responsible for projects could not be reached because he is travelling.  According to the ministry of health and family welfare, India has 17 million persons living with COPD, a number that is estimated to rise to 22 million by 2016.

Currently, there is no data on the total number of deaths caused by COPD. While obstructive airways diseases are typically considered an after-effect of rapid urbanization, the pressures of modern living and ignorance, Salvi said, new studies have established that a substantial number of COPD patients were exposed to indoor air pollution due to smoke from biomass fuel such as firewood.

Around 70% of households in India, especially in rural regions, use biomass fuel for cooking. “This has actually led our research to focus on the rural population and the spread of the disease among non-smokers,” said Salvi. He added that according to recent findings, there are 1.1 billion smokers globally, and around three billion people are exposed to biomass fuel.

Of the patients with COPD, around 40% are non-smokers, but Salvi said this number could increase as nearly half the world’s population is exposed to biomass fuel. Currently, Cipla has the largest portfolio of respiratory medicines in the local market, and is the largest exporter of such drugs.

A Cipla executive said the study was independent of the company as CRF is an autonomous research institution and the collaboration with Imperial College would make the findings usable globally. He declined to be named for this article because he is not authorized to talk on this project.

CRF’s studies so far have focused on epidemiological studies on COPD and other respiratory ailments in India’s rural population. It will also study the effects of air pollution on the human respiratory tract and investigate attitudes of patients and doctors towards the diseases, among others.

According to a 2008 International COPD Coalition report, prepared for its annual global conference that year, the disease affects at least 340 million people worldwide and is the fourth largest cause of death after cerebro-vascular, heart and infectious diseases.

Source – Livemint

Fiji – Rocket stove to save millions

January 22, 2010 · 1 comment

About 90 households in Totoya, in Lau, will soon enjoy cooking on smokeless stoves donated by the Pacific Blue Foundation.

Rocket stoves for Tovu Village

Commonly known as the rocket stove, the new product is effectively used in developing countries such as Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Guatamala,Costa Rica and El Salvador.

The stove, which is made from empty drums and aided by small pieces of wood, is currently being used by the people of Yanuca Island.

Unlike open fire, the stove can store a maximum heat of more than 600F.

Pacific Blue Foundation South Pacific co-ordinator and newly installed Roko Sau of Totoya Roko Josefa Cinavilakeba said the new stove had many advantages which would greatly assisted the rural dwellers. He said the new stove could potentially save the country millions of dollars.

“It has a lot of advantages for it can cook the food twice quicker than the open fire, saves time and money.

“Also it saves out forests for we will only need small pieces of wood to light up the fire,” said Roko Josefa.

He said another advantage was that the stove could be moved around within the house and its compound.

“Women can easily do whatever other household cores they may have while they are cooking their food,” said Roko Josefa.

He said the feedback he had been getting from the people of Totoya was encouraging.

“Men are now assisting the women with their cooking because the stove is very easy to use,” said Roko Josefa.

Source – http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=137967

News on cookstoves for Haiti

January 22, 2010 · 0 comments

Below are links to recent news articles on organizations providing cookstoves to Haiti:

Other Sources

Inventor of biomass-fired cooking stove wins young scientist top award

January 19, 2010 · 1 comment

A few tin cans and a penknife were all an 18-year-old Cork student needed to get started on inventing a revolutionary biomass-fired cooking stove for developing countries that secured the top prize at this year’s BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition.

Video of awards ceremony & stove – http://www.btyoungscientist.com/media/video.php?file_id=44

Now Richard O’Shea from Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal, Blarney, Co Cork, wants to get these stoves to developing countries as quickly as possible and he’s working with charities like Trócaire and Concern to make it happen, he told Siliconrepublic.com Friday night.

His design makes it possible to build highly efficient, smoke-free stoves from items like tin cans. Every year, 2 billion people across the world rely on burning biomass materials like wood, dung and plants to cook their food.

All about help

Asked about how quickly he wants to bring his design to market, O’Shea said: “This is not about bringing it to market, this is not commercial, I just want to get this into the hands of the people who need it as soon as possible.”

He explained that every year thousands of people in the developing world who cook indoors in poorly ventilated homes die from smoke inhalation and his biomass-fired cooking stove could save lives.

“Richard received the prestigious honour for his pioneering work on the design of a biomass-fuelled cooking stove for use in developing countries,” explained Intel’s Leonard Hobbs, chief judge, technology.

“Over 2 billion people in the world depend on stoves to cook their meals every day, and his project built a new one which uses as little fuel as possible and which ideally produces no smoke.

“Richard made a strong impression on the judges with his detailed research into the chemical processes involved in burning timber, and with the various designs he came up with using very simple materials, such as tin cans and nails, which are very easy to find in third-world countries.

“An added bonus is that his stoves can be built using simple tools, such as a Swiss army knife. Richard impressed us with both his science knowledge and the engineering skill he showed in his construction work,” Hobbs said.

Source – http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/14890/randd/bt-science-and-tech-winner

Tajikstan – Need for stoves & appropriate fuel after earthquake

January 19, 2010 · 0 comments

TAJIKISTAN: Appeal for earthquake rebuilding support

(One significant outstanding immediate need which remains is for stoves and appropriate fuel to heat the tents. Wood is locally scarce and many stoves provided are not appropriate for the use of coal)

LONDON, 17 January 2010 (IRIN) – While the international humanitarian community attempts to get relief to hundreds of thousands of survivors of the devastating 12 January Haiti earthquake, the Tajikistan government has appealed for support to build seismic resistant houses after some 7,000 people were affected by a 5.3-magnitude earthquake that shook the country on 2 January. “CoES [the Tajik Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defence] is appealing to you with request to mobilize existing resources for the provision of urgent assistance, such as construction materials, as well as assistance in construction of standard seismic-resistant houses for the affected population,” Latipov Khaibullo, Chairman of CoES, said in a recent appeal.

A 12 January report by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 20 villages in Vanj district in the eastern Gorno-Badakhshan region were affected by the earthquake. More than 140 houses were fully destroyed and 950 partially damaged, it said. “There is urgent need for the total reconstruction of houses. Technical guidance is crucial as over 1,000 houses have been damaged and are in need of becoming earthquake resistant. Urgent assistance for the rehabilitation of social facilities like schools and cultural centres is important, as often they are the last places to get attention,” Nancy Snauwaert, a humanitarian coordination officer in the office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Vanj, told IRIN. Vanj district continues to experience small tremors and aftershocks, according to the OCHA report.

Families in the affected area have been sleeping in tents in freezing temperatures as authorities have advised people to avoid sleeping inside damaged houses, said Snauwert. According to a 14 January report by the Rapid Emergency Assessment and Coordination Team (REACT) – a body comprising the government, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) – the average tremor magnitude is three on the Richter Scale. Though small in magnitude, the frequency of these tremors and associated noises has caused considerable concern in the local population.

A magnitude-3 tremor occurred on 9 January close to the epicentre of the first earthquake and destroyed more homes, the report said. “[While] immediate humanitarian needs are largely met, considerable more relief work needs to be done to move displaced families from schools and mosques and from host families to tents which will provide basic shelter until housing can be rebuilt or repaired. One significant outstanding immediate need which remains is for stoves and appropriate fuel to heat the tents. Wood is locally scarce and many stoves provided are not appropriate for the use of coal,” REACT said.

Source – Reuters

USA – EPA Recognizes 8 Schools for Excellence in Indoor Air Quality

January 19, 2010 · 0 comments

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized eight school districts for their indoor air quality programs.

The National Excellence Award winners are

  • Keller Independent School District, Keller, Texas;
  • Kenosha Unified School District No. 1, Kenosha, Wis.;
  • North Penn School District, Lansdale, Pa.;
  • Wayzata Public Schools, Plymouth, Minn.; and
  • Westport Public Schools, Westport, Conn.

 

The National Model of Sustained Excellence Award Winners are

  • Ocean Township School District, Oakhurst, N.J.;
  • Omaha Public Schools, Omaha, Neb.;
  • Spokane Public Schools, Spokane, Wash.

The National Connector Award Winners are

  • Jack Levine, Amity Regional School District No. 5, Woodbridge, Conn.;
  • Michael Sheehan, Baldwin Union Free School District, Baldwin, N.Y.

 

EPA ranks indoor air pollution among the top five environmental health risks. In addition to health effects such as headaches, dizziness, and fatigue, students and staff exposed to poor indoor air quality experience decreased performance and diminished concentration levels. Poor indoor air quality can make allergy and asthma symptoms worse, particularly for children. Asthma results in nearly 13 million lost school days per year.   

Keller ISD’s indoor air quality program features a strong asthma management component, including changes to the physical buildings, such as removing all carpeting from classrooms and using green cleaning products. The school district is implementing a comprehensive asthma trigger education program, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on all district campuses to help proactively manage health risks.   

“The protection of subpopulations, especially with regard to children, is one of our top priorities,” said Al Armendariz, EPA Region 6 administrator. “EPA is bringing new energy to safeguarding children and commends Keller ISD for their commitment to a healthy environment for their students and teachers.” Nearly 20 percent of Americans, or about 60 million people, spend their days inside 132,000 public and private elementary and secondary school facilities. The average public school is 42 years old, and school buildings begin rapid deterioration after 40 years if not properly maintained. The IAQ Tools for Schools Program provides free resources and guidance to help schools identify and solve their AIQ problems using practical, cost-effective and step-by-step approaches. 

Source – EPA Online

Pakistan – SDPI, NIDA agree on fuel-efficient technologies

January 19, 2010 · 0 comments

A Letter of Understanding (LoU) has been signed for implementing the project on ‘Improving Environment through Reduction in Woodcutting and Remission in Greenhouse Gases through Fuel Efficient Technologies” in District Kohistan in NWFP Province of Pakistan.’

The agreement – signed between Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and National Integrated & Development Association (NIDA), Pakistan, based in Besham, District Kohistan, NWFP – aims at raising awareness through social mobilisation and training in the communities and schools on protection of environmental health and climate change, planning workshops, social mobilisation, formation of village-based organisations and project visibility.

Under the agreement, the two organisations would introduce fuel and energy-efficient technologies, i.e. smokeless stoves and solar dryers in 20 villages to improve livelihood and environmental conditions of the communities; identify and train blacksmiths for local stove production; and train local women at home on the use of fuel-efficient stoves.  LoU also takes care of distributing industrial-made stoves in the poorest and most venerable community members.

Dr Zia ur Rahman Farooqi, Chief Executive NIDA, and Dr Abid Suleri, Executive Director SDPI, signed the agreement on behalf of the respective organisations. Mr Zahoor Ullah Babar and Dr Mahmood A Khwaja from NIDA and SDPI respectively would be the focal persons for the programme and activities.

The Asia Pacific Forum for Environment & Development (APFED), Japan, approved the project for funding as one of the 10 ‘show case’ projects from over 1,000 projects, submitted from the Asia-Pacific region for 2009-10.

Source – http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=219600

Ethiopia introducing energy saving stove

January 19, 2010 · 0 comments

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 19 (NNN-ENA) — Ethiopia’s Ministry of Mine and Energy is expanding fuel saving technology with the use of improved stoves through it rural energy development and promotion centre.

The ministry’s public relations expert, Roman Assefa, told Ethiopian news Agency (ENA) here Monday that the centre was implementing projects aimed at saving energy in six regional states — Tigray, Amhara , Oromia , Benishangul Gumuz , Gambella and South Ethiopia Peoples’ states with funds secured from the World Bank.

The improved stove has enabled households usig it to save 66 per cent energy compared with the previous 10 per cent, said Roman, who added that rural women used to travel up to eight km on average to fetch firewood and 30 per cent of their income was spent to buy firewood.

The expert said expansion of the use of the improved stove, named “Gonze”, would help address the problems faced by these women.

The head of the mines and egenry office of South West Shoa Zone, Hailu kenea, said the office was striving to distribute some 27,000 Gonze stoves and other improved energy saving stoves in the zone.

He said more than 3,000 fuel-saving stoves had been distributed in collaboration with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as World Vision, GTZ and Catholic Aid in the current Ethiopian fiscal year.

Members of improved stove producers’ association also said the demand for the stoves had been increasing.

Source – http://news.brunei.fm/2010/01/19/ethiopia-introducing-energy-saving-stove/

Cookstoves and Markets: Experiences, Successes and Opportunities

January 14, 2010 · 0 comments

Cookstoves and Markets: Experiences, Successes and Opportunities, Dec. 2009. GVEP International.

Full-text:  http://www.pciaonline.org/files/Cookstoves_and_Markets.pdf (pdf, 3.37MB)

Editors:  Kavita Rai & Jeveta McDonald

Why has the adoption of improved cook stoves been so slow in developing countries? This GVEP International-produced report compiles a series of articles written by key stakeholders active in the promotion, dissemination and marketing of cookstoves globally.  The main purpose of the report is to delve deeper into issues of why and how cookstoves take so much time and effort to be brought on to the market successfully.  The report looks at the challenges associated with commercialising cookstove products and other reasons for market underdevelopment despite the enormous potential which improved cookstoves have as well as detailing several successes.  There is a particular focus on populations in the South where the vast majority continue to depend on firewood and charcoal for cooking.

Contents 

  • Markets and Cookstoves: What works?
  • Market Solutions to Combat Indoor Air Pollution: Shell Foundation and Envirofit International
  • The Commercialisation and Scale Up Success of Improved Cookstoves in Sri Lanka
  • Product Development for the Bottom of the Pyramid Market: The Prakti Example
  • Channelling Cookstove Products Through Existing Solar Supply Chains: SELCO India Experience
  • Modernizing Traditional Energy: From Small Scale Approaches to Large Scale Manufacturing and Marketing
  • Subsidy Schemes for the Dissemination of Efficient Stoves: Experiences and Lessons Learnt
  • Making LPG Stoves Accessible for Low Income Communities in Kassala, Sudan
  • The Growth of Ugastoves: Reaching Scale with Carbon Finance
    Three Key Obstacles to Cookstove Adoption (And How to Overcome Them)

PCIA Bulletin, Jan. 2010 – Current status of solar cooking

January 13, 2010 · 0 comments

PCIA Bulletin Issue 22 – This issue provides an overview of the history and current status of solar cooking, highlights successful projects worldwide, and includes an informed discussion of myths and facts about cooking with the sun. Recipes and solar cooking tips are incorporated throughout. PCIA Partners enthusiastically led the development of this issue, with significant contributions from Patricia McArdle, President of the Board of Directors for Solar Household Energy (SHE), and Darwin Curtis, Chairman of SHE.

Full-text of Jan. 2010 issue (pdf, 949KB)

Feature Articles
History of Solar Cooking…………………….. p.2
Opening the World’s Eyes and Ears to
Integrated Solar Cooking………………………… p.3
Options & Challenges Using Solar Cookers…. p.5
Safe Water from Sunshine………………………… p.6
Solar Commercialization…………………………. .. p.7
Solar Cooking Archive Wiki…………………….. .. p.8
Country Spotlights
Sustainable Rural Kitchen in Mexico…………… p.10
ISC and Water Pasteurization in Uganda …… p.11
Mfuwe Solar Cooker Project……………………. .. p.12
Solar Cooking in Madagascar……………………. p.13
Darfur Refugees Cooking with the Sun………. p.14
Solar Cookers in China…………………………… .. p.15
Solar Cooking in Afghanistan…………………. .. p.16
Solar Cooking in Nepal.………………………… .. p.17
Conclusions from Bolivia………………………… p.19
Happenings……………………………………………. p.21
Solar Cooking Map………………………………….p.23

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