During 2014, 156 million people were affected by violent conflict or natural disaster. More than 59 million of them were refugees or people internally displaced within their home nation. While a robust humanitarian system exists to provide food, shelter, and medical assistance, many crisis-affected people lack access to adequate fuel and technologies to safely cook their meals.
Food provided by humanitarian agencies is typically dry and energy dense, and must be cooked for long periods of time before it can be eaten. Yet clean and efficient cook stoves and fuel are rarely provided. As a result, many families rely on solid fuels such as wood or charcoal for cooking, which create smoky fires that damage respiratory health. Crisis-affected women must often walk for hours to find firewood and carry heavy loads back to camp, which puts them at risk for physical injury and attack. The time spent collecting firewood also negatively affects
women and girls’ ability to attend school and engage in income-generating activities.

59.5 million Number of refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers in the world today.
80% Percentage of internally displaced people in North Darfur that reported selling food from their rations to buy firewood.
42% Percentage of refugee households in Chad that experienced incidents of sexual or gender based violence during firewood collection over a six-month period in 2014.
10-17 Mortality rates from acute respiratory infection among refugees in Nepal were 10-17 times higher than among their non-displaced peers.

We want the Humanitarian Agencies to give priority to Access to Safe Energy and Fuel during the Humanitarian Summit and Beyond.