Funding and Delivery Models for Modern Energy Cooking Services in Displacement Settings: A Review

Abstract

Cooking with modern energy fuels and technologies has a high potential to positively impact the users’ health and well-being, and make cooking safer and less burdensome for women and girls. To date, there have been numerous interventions targeting improved cooking solutions in displacement settings, but very few which have involved modern energy cooking, such as ethanol, biogas, LPG or electric cooking. They have been largely absent from humanitarian programming due to limited availability, affordability and lack of business models that suit those complex settings. Additionally, energy access services in displacement settings have historically relied primarily on grant-based funding. However, grants are limited to relatively short timeframes which do not align with the long-term needs of the displaced. New ways of funding energy access in displacement settings, and particularly modern energy cooking services, are urgently needed to address the scale of the challenge as the number of displaced surpassed 80 million in 2020, with close to 90% having little or no access to adequate cooking fuels and technologies. In this paper, we review modern energy cooking in displacement settings and the common ways of funding and delivering them. We argue that new ways of funding and delivering energy access in displacement settings are urgently needed to address the scale of the challenge and to facilitate transitions to modern energy cooking fuels and technologies, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 7 and the principle of ‘leaving no one behind’.

Enhancing Understanding Through Data Visualization: What Can Available Data Reveal About Access to Energy in Displacement Contexts on the African Continent?

“…A multitude of contextual factors, such as the location and the characteristics of housing (settlement, camplike, urban, rural, etc.) [6], the legal status of displaced persons [7], the socio-cultural background and the availability of humanitarian and public services have a major impact on the conditions of living. In this study we focus on displaced persons residing in settlements and camps.…”

Editorial for Special Issue: “Clean Energy Innovations: Challenges and Strategies for Low and Middle Income Countries”

“…Bisaga and To [10] focused on displacement settings within a policy environment. They echoed the challenges described above, noting that there were interventions for improved cooking solutions in displacement settings, but related that very few involved modern energy cooking.…”

“…They echoed the challenges described above, noting that there were interventions for improved cooking solutions in displacement settings, but related that very few involved modern energy cooking. Bisaga and To [10] pointed to two significant emerging trends, the longevity of being displaced-the mean duration of exile experienced by refugees stands at between 10 and 15 years. The exact proportions in each category are not clear but, in 2019, an estimated 2 out of 3 IDPs and 60% of refugees were in urban or semi-urban areas.…”

Results-Based Financing (RBF) for Modern Energy Cooking Solutions: An Effective Driver for Innovation and Scale?

“…Consequently, some broader energy sector RBF programmes have started to include clean cooking components alongside solar home systems (SHS) and mini-grids (MG). Notable examples of such programmes include the Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP), the BRILHO Programme in Mozambique and the solar-hybrid MG RBF in Northern Kenya, which supported energy access for refugees in the Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement, an extension of the Kakuma refugee camp, in Northern Kenya [15], as clean cooking interventions are also becoming an emerging topic in the humanitarian context [20]. However, although recent clean cooking RBFs have largely been part of wider energy access programming, the clean cooking component of the programmes is often detached from the electricity access component.…”