Powering health with energy in low-income and middle-income countries

Rob Bailis

doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(25)00526-1

Traditional way of making food on open fire in old Indian kitchen in a village

Powering health with energy in low-income and middle-income countries

Journal article / Access to clean, reliable energy is a cornerstone of public health, yet energy poverty continues to undermine health and equity in many lower income countries.

25 March 2026 / About Fossil fuels, Household energy, Pollution, Short lived climate pollutants and Wellbeing

In South Africa, two Shangaan women cook around a fire.

Impacts of improved cookstove interventions on personal exposure to carbon monoxide and particulate matter in Zambia

Journal article / This journal article explores the effects of different cooking fuels, stoves and greater environment on users' air pollution exposure.

21 September 2025 / About Energy access, Household energy, Pollution and Short lived climate pollutants

Different kinds of wooden pellets in flames.

Biomass cookstove emissions—a systematic review on aerosol and particle properties of relevance for health, climate, and the environment

Journal article / Biomass cookstoves remain a major source of harmful air pollution. This article analyses the research and policy landscape on these cookstoves' emissions.

11 April 2025 / About Household energy, Pollution, Short lived climate pollutants and Sustainable lifestyles

Why humanitarian energy and climate issues are a growing global concern

Feature / This Q&A outlines why SEI is taking on research to address clean energy access and climate change-related concerns in humanitarian settings.

8 September 2025 / About Energy access, Household energy and Renewables

Tackling energy and climate concerns in the humanitarian sector

Feature / SEI's "Humanitarian Energy and Climate Transitions" research agenda aims to address renewable energy and climate-related issues in humanitarian settings.

26 August 2025 / About Energy access and Household energy

Ethiopia, in a Dorze village preparation and cooking of traditional false banana flatbread.

Business and financing models for PV‑supported clean cooking as a critical climate technology for last mile communities

Other publication / This report explores business models and finance options that can help accelerate the use of clean-cooking technologies in last mile communities.

18 June 2025 / About Finance

Insights for development interventions in the clean-energy sector, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa

SEI brief / Get insights on developing clean-energy-sector interventions in sub-Saharan Africa and low- and lower-middle income countries.

1 April 2025 / About Energy access, Finance, Planning and modelling and Renewables

A woman bends to tend a metal pot on a metal cooking stove, with bright orange headkerchief and pink dress under a paisley blue-and-white shawl.

The adoption of renewable energy is transforming women’s lives in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands

Perspective / By reducing cooking time and fuel collection burdens, energy-efficient wood-burning stoves and biogas have empowered women.

13 November 2024 / About Household energy, Pollution and Sustainable lifestyles

Frailejones shrubs dot the foreground in a muted green grassland, while a large body of water spreads at the feet of some mountains in the background at El Angel Ecological Reserve in northern Ecuador

From gray to green: finding common cause for people and planet

Past event / This virtual New York Climate Week event explores on-the-ground trade-offs and solutions with SEI experts that benefit climate and biodiversity alike.

27 September 2024 / About Adaptation, Ecosystems, Food and agriculture, Household energy, Public policy and Water resources