Smoke from Firewood and Charcoal Driving Siaya County's Respiratory Disease Burden, Experts Warn

Children in Siaya County are bearing the heaviest cost of a health crisis rooted in something as ordinary as the family cooking fire. New findings from the Chronic Disease Society (CDS) Africa show that more than three-quarters of the county's respiratory disease burden falls on children aged below five years — and a significant proportion of those affected come from households that depend on unclean cooking energy sources.

CDS Africa Chairperson Faith Okwayo raised the alarm during a specialised medical camp held in the county and jointly organised with the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA). She described Siaya as one of the country's highest-burden counties when it comes to respiratory illnesses, a situation she directly attributed to the widespread reliance on unclean energy in homes throughout the region.

The two-day medical camp brought together pulmonologists and other health professionals who offered free services to between two and three thousand patients. Residents received specialised screening, diagnosis, and treatment targeting conditions such as asthma, lung cancer, and other pulmonary illnesses — care that many in the county would otherwise struggle to access.

EPRA Director General Dr. Joseph Okech identified firewood and charcoal as key culprits behind the health emergency. The fumes released when these fuels burn in poorly ventilated kitchens accumulate over time, gradually damaging the respiratory systems of those exposed — particularly young children who spend long hours indoors. Dr. Okech called for a decisive national shift toward clean cooking technologies, framing the medical camp as part of EPRA's corporate social responsibility work and its broader commitment to supporting universal health access goals.

Siaya County's Chief Nursing Officer Godfrey Odhiambo Otieno echoed the urgency, stating that the county's disease profile demands targeted, specialised interventions rather than general outreach efforts. His remarks underscored a growing consensus among health administrators that broad-brush approaches are insufficient in communities where specific environmental factors — in this case, indoor air pollution — are the primary driver of illness.

The Siaya initiative brings into sharp focus a challenge that stretches well beyond one county. Millions of Kenyan households continue to rely on firewood and charcoal for daily cooking, creating persistent indoor air pollution that health experts say is quietly fuelling respiratory disease across the country. Closing the gap between clean energy policy and actual household adoption remains one of the most pressing public health and energy access questions Kenya must confront.