The publication focuses on the negative health consequences of indoor air pollution, advocating for improved cooking stoves and household energy.  It provides an overview of energy poverty, the connection of indoor pollution to the Millenium Development Goals, and the necessary investment and scaling up of interventions.

WHO and Swiss Tropical Institute’s guidelines introducing the cost-benefit framework for analysis of household energy and health interventions addressing indoor air pollution. This document is designed for use by economists and other professionals interested in conducting a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and outlines the steps in the process: choosing interventions, defining boundaries, estimating costs and impacts, carrying out sensitivity analysis and presenting the results. Use of CBA may aid in guiding policy-making and determination of investments in household energy interventions.

Technical document laying out guidelines for assessing the disease burden caused by household exposure to indoor smoke from solid fuels. The article discusses the evidence linking solid fuel use with major health outcomes and includes an illustrative case study for India. Determining the impact of solid fuel use on health allows for the identification and prioritization of environmental and public health interventions.

Report of a symposium and a workshop held at the International Society of Environmental presenting preliminary results of a randomized intervention trial in Guatemala and discussing the implication for policy, advocacy and future research. The study involved 500 Mayan Indian children in households that used open wood fires for cooking and assessed the impact of chimney stoves on lung health and risk of pneumonia. Findings suggested a lower incidence of acute respiratory infections among infants up to the age of 18 months, supporting arguments that indoor air pollution has an effect on child health and mortality.

Brief summary of what to consider and measure during the evaluation of an indoor air pollution and household energy intervention project or program based on a training workshop organized by the WHO in 2005.

This document reports the findings from the WHO’s global cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of household energy and health interventions using the guidelines from Guidelines for conducting cost-benefit analysis of household energy and health interventions. This technical report outlines the methods and data sources for the CBA and presents the results of intervention scenarios selected based on their relevance to the Millenium Development Goals. Interventions were chosen based on their approach: reducing exposure through changing from solid fuel to cleaner fuel and reducing exposure through a cleaner-burning and more efficient improved stove. The report concludes that the health and productivity gains outweigh the overall cost of interventions.

Report synthesizing the findings of a symposium at the Annual Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE). The review notes consistent impacts of solid fuel smoke exposure on low birth weight and still birth. Summaries of symposium presentations and evidence are presented along with recommendations for future research.