Household energy insecurity: dimensions and consequences for women, infants and children in low- and middle-income countries

Boateng, Godfred O.; Balogun, Mobolanle; Dada, Festus Opeyemi; Armah, Frederick Ato

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113068

Cited by 29 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In this context, women who cook with solid fuels indoors are at higher risk of respiratory infections during the lock down as they are increasingly exposed to poisonous gases from incomplete fuel combustion (15). Households that are energy insecure may also be in danger of food poisoning and gastrointestinal infection due to the consumption of contaminated food and water that could not be sufficiently heated (1). Furthermore, the absence of cooking fuel in households whose main food sources are staples that require cooking could lead to hunger caused by lower caloric intake, malnutrition, and associated health complications.…”

Section: Covid-19 Increases the Health Risks Of Energy Insecuritymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the absence of cooking fuel in households whose main food sources are staples that require cooking could lead to hunger caused by lower caloric intake, malnutrition, and associated health complications. It could also lead to an increase in the anxiety, stress, and frustrations associated with energy insecurity (1). Additionally, energy insecurity may lead to the termination of income-generating activities (e.g., dressmaking, hairdressing, and commercial cooking) for households that depend on energy for sustainable livelihood.…”

Section: Covid-19 Increases the Health Risks Of Energy Insecuritymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Energy insecurity, the lack of access to adequate, affordable, reliable, acceptable, and clean sources of energy for a healthy and sustainable livelihood, has detrimental consequences for many households in developing countries (1,2) and low-income settings in the developed world (3). Household energy insecurity (HEINS), like other resource insecurities such as food and water insecurity, can be symptomatic of broader economic disadvantages and social inequalities faced by the poor.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Household energy insecurity (HEINS), like other resource insecurities such as food and water insecurity, can be symptomatic of broader economic disadvantages and social inequalities faced by the poor. The effects of energy insecurity at the household level are numerous and can pose psychosocial (e.g., stress, anxiety), economic (e.g., decrease in income generating activities), disease (e.g., diarrhea, respiratory infections), and nutritional burdens (e.g., dietary restrictions, food insecurity) on the most vulnerable (1,3,4). These burdens are hypothesized to worsen as a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID- 19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), due to the uneven implementation of restrictive health mandates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Household Energy Insecurity and COVID-19 Have Independent and Synergistic Health Effects on Vulnerable Populations

Boateng

Phipps

Smith

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Household energy insecurity (HEINS) is detrimental to the health of the poor and most vulnerable in resource-poor settings. However, this effect amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and the uneven implementation of restrictions can create a synergistic burden of diseases and health risks for the most vulnerable in low- and middle-income countries, exacerbating the health equity gap. Based on existing literature, this paper develops three key arguments: (1) COVID-19 increases the health risks of energy insecurity; (2) HEINS increases the risk of spreading COVID-19; and (3) the co-occurrence of COVID-19 and HEINS will have compounding health effects. These arguments make context-specific interventions, rather than a generic global health approach without recourse to existing vulnerabilities critical in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and mitigating the effects of energy insecurity. Targeted international efforts aimed at financing and supporting resource security, effective testing, contact tracing, and the equitable distribution of vaccines and personal protective equipment have the potential to ameliorate the synergistic effects of HEINS and COVID-19 in resource-poor countries.

show abstract

Section: Covid-19 Increases the Health Risks Of Energy Insecuritymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Covid-19 Increases the Health Risks Of Energy Insecuritymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Household Energy Insecurity and COVID-19 Have Independent and Synergistic Health Effects on Vulnerable Populations

Boateng

Phipps

Smith

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The broader impacts of energy insecurity and poverty on household environments are related to mental and physical health (Boateng et al, 2020;Herna ´ndez, 2016;Mayer and Smith, 2019;Snell et al, 2015), which is a serious situation during the COVID-19 pandemic (Casta ´n Broto and Kirshner, 2020;Chen et al, 2020;Graff and Carley, 2020;Memmott et al, 2021); for example, anxiety, stress, and depression are associated with poor housing conditions (Harrington et al, 2005;Liddell and Morris, 2010;Herna ´ndez et al, 2016). Energy insecurity is defined as households' inability to meet basic energy needs (Herna ´ndez, 2016;Memmott et al, 2021), while energy poverty is generally measured by the inability to pay for utility bills (Drehobl et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How limitations in energy access, poverty, and socioeconomic disparities compromise health interventions for outbreaks in urban settings

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Low-income households (LIHs) have experienced increased poverty and inaccess to healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic, limiting their ability to adhere to health-protective behaviors. We use an epidemiological model to show how a households' inability to adopt social distancing, owing to constraints in utility and healthcare expenditure, can drastically impact the course of disease outbreaks in five urban U.S. counties. LIHs suffer greater burdens of disease and death than higher income households, while functioning as a consistent source of virus exposure for the entire community due to socioeconomic barriers to following public health guidelines. These impacts worsened when social distancing policy could not be imposed. Health interventions combining social distancing and LIH resource protection strategies (e.g., utility and healthcare access) were the most effective in limiting virus spread for all income levels. Policies need to address the multidimensionality of energy, housing, and healthcare access for future disaster management.Current energy poverty research is mainly carried out at the individual, small-scale level (e.g., building, person, household) but not at the population level (e.g., national building stock, cities, building typologies).

show abstract

Development of a water‐energy‐food nexus model for multiscale studies

Mondal

Tantuway

Chatterjee

et al. 2023

Irrigation and Drainage

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A spatially distributed water‐energy‐food (WEF) nexus model has been developed using the Pardee‐RAND WEF approach to analyse the WEF security of an area. The Pardee‐RAND equations have been modified to include the earlier neglected WEF indicators to tackle the WEF challenges holistically. The model is coded in Python and has an operating system‐independent graphical user interface (GUI). The model helps understand the WEF nexus by calculating water energy, food subindices and the WEF nexus index. We tested the model in the Kangsabati River Basin (distributed at the block level) and across India (states/union territory level). The result shows that the WEF nexus indices vary significantly over the country's small (block) to large (state) administrative units. The water energy and food subindices and WEF nexus index for the Kangsabati River Basin are 0.89, 0.73, 0.79 and 0.80, respectively, while for India, the corresponding values are 0.67, 0.53, 0.73 and 0.63, respectively. The blocks or states/union territories needing specific policy interventions are identified. The study will help influence policy and resource planning at different administrative levels to ensure better management of WEF resources holistically and equitably.

show abstract

Household energy insecurity: dimensions and consequences for women, infants and children in low- and middle-income countries

Cited by 29 publications

References 39 publications

Household Energy Insecurity and COVID-19 Have Independent and Synergistic Health Effects on Vulnerable Populations

Household Energy Insecurity and COVID-19 Have Independent and Synergistic Health Effects on Vulnerable Populations

How limitations in energy access, poverty, and socioeconomic disparities compromise health interventions for outbreaks in urban settings

Development of a water‐energy‐food nexus model for multiscale studies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About