95,000 Women, Children Die Annually From Use Of Firewood In Nigeria -DPR

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has disclosed that about 95,000 women and children die annually from the use of firewood in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the Director, DPR, Engineer Sarki Auwalu, during a one day sensitisation workshop organised by DPR for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) handlers and other stakeholders in the gas sector in Port Harcourt, recently.
The DPR director who spoke with newsmen during the event also stated that statistics from the United Nations and the World Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (WLPGA) show that about four million (mostly women and children) die from the use of dirty fuels worldwide.
To tackle these challenges, the DPR Director said the “Federal Government has embarked on regulatory programmes and accelerated drive of transition from the use of traditional cooking fuels (charcoal, firewood, kerosene) to LPG”.
He pointed out that the target was to provide a cheaper, cleaner, versatile and more efficient alternative for cooking and improve the lives of Nigerians, adding that the “deepening of LPG penetration will bring about socio- economic, health and environmental benefits”.
The Director also hinted that the DPR had taken steps to address some of the challenges in the LPG sector, such as, “introduction of the Minimum Industry Safety Training for Downstream Operations (MISTDO), the Automated Downstream System (ADS), eradicating illegal operators and operation activities, improved collaboration with Town Planning authorities of state governments to review site approval and acceptance criteria, improve collaboration with other stakeholders and relevant government agencies, such as Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), enhanced public enlightenment and awareness on safety operations in the LPG sector”.
He said the initiatives would yield maximum benefits with the commitment of all stakeholders, and commended the Rivers State Government for partnering with the DPR in the efforts to weed off all illegal operators/retailers in the state.
Auwalu also acknowledged the efforts of the security agencies in assisting the DPR to achieve set objectives of government in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.

Taneh Beemene&Bariiye Elesohe